I'm not going to do a formal review of this book because there's been enough buzz with it being an Oprah pick and everyone loving it etc. I will say that it took me six months to finish this book which is a long time for me. I just couldn't get into it. I don't think this book needed to be almost 800 pages long! When I did finally finish the book, yes, I could appreciate the story and the characters and their journeys. Verghese's previous book Cutting for Stone was similar in that it took me awhile to get into the story and the characters, but with The Covenant of Water, I was never fully hooked. I know I'm in the minority here - to each their own.

Thank you to Net Galley and and Grove Atlantic for the advanced copy of this book!

I really wanted to like this book, especially because the characters were Indians and St. Thomas's Christians. But I couldn't. It took me 3 months to finish this books. I generally love books with heavy themes but the fact that it had so much to do with medicines made it a bit boring for me.
But the major issue was infidelity. That is something that does not sit well with me, so I did not like the ending.

It was a 3 🌟 read for me and one star is just for Amachi, the old Mariamma💗

First of all, thank you to Net Galley and and Grove Atlantic for the advanced copy of this book! I made it 20% of the way through the book before DNF-ing it. If you are a fan of books with medical themes/perspective (one of the main characters is a doctor), you may enjoy this one. I typically love a multigenerational saga but this one did not speak to me for now. Be sure to check content warnings before picking this one up.

A beautifully written and epic novel that spans generations and continents as a family struggles to discover the reason they are afflicted with a propensity for drowning. The vivid descriptions of food, people and landscapes made it easy to savor the story and really feel immersed in a different place and time. While the plot does meander at times everything comes full circle in end. I could say so much more about how much I loved this book but I’ll keep it short & sweet. Highly recommend.
4.5 stars rounded up to 5

At the time of this writing, there is a plethora of praise for this epic novel and all of it is deserved - Verghese has a way with words and is a seemingly natural (and gifted) storyteller who seamlessly folds pertinent elements of medicine, religion, humanity, art, food, and nature into his tales.

In this tale, we are in India following the trials and tribulations of a matriarchal family lineage through several generations. We experience the impacts of loves and losses, periods of struggle and abundance, sickness and health, life and death, differing governmental regimes, and the ever-present weight and ramification of colonialism. There are also tender lessons of kindness, caring for others (brother’s keeper), and simply benevolent vibes that buoy the story at just the right moments.

This is an engaging timeless read; recommended for fans of family sagas, and historical and/or literary fiction.

Thanks to the publisher, Grove Press, and NetGalley for an opportunity to review.

4.5*

Verghese is a gifted writer who takes us on a journey to the southwestern part of India. It’s a land that long ago was converted to Catholicism by one of the apostles. The book spans three generations of one family. It starts in 1900 with a 12-year-old child being given to a forty-year-old widower as his bride. She will later become known as Big Ammachi and her descendants carry on the story through 1977.

The family that Big Ammachi is now a part of, suffers from an unknown malady or curse. Most of them die in water. This haunts the descendants their whole lives and dictates their upbringing. But though this trait is part of the undercurrent, there’s so much more to this multi-generational tale. The novel covers family dynamics, the caste system, romance, tragic loss, medicine, lepars, secrets and drug addiction.

The writing is gorgeous and the story is highly detailed. The author’s medical background is very apparent as there are a lot of medical explanations included. The only critique might be in the length of the book; there’s so much covered that the size may be daunting to some. Verghese used his mother’s own stories to build this novel. It’s masterful and powerful. Don’t let the length be a deterrent; it’s well worth the time to follow Big Ammachi and her family through the decades.

I really wanted to like this book but I did not! Reading it felt like wading through mud with so many side stories. I felt as if I was reading several books at the same time.

Everyone shouksmd very reading this evocative thought orovijibg novel. Two deeply moving storyline.

Not to be missed.

A great 19th century British novel about India that happens to be set stretching through the first 2/3 of the 20th century, and written by a 21st century author of Indian descent. It’s great. It’s epic. It’s family.
It’s science. It’s religion and politics and philosophy and history. It rivals Cutting for Stone. Read it.

This is my first exposure to Verghese's work - although many had recommended his first gigantic novel, Cutting for Stone to me, I had heard that it got bogged down in medical detail, which didn't sound like something I would enjoy. I had a similar problem with this, his second behemoth doorstopper, which is also receiving suitable praise and has become a big bestseller.

Although I dutifully did not skim such, there were many sections that I found rather stomach-churning - and basically unnecessary for the story; knowing that Verghese's first love is medicine and he still practices and teaches at Stanford, I can see why it would excite him - me, not so much. Be that as it may, I was initially quite excited by the story, thinking it was a 5-star book for sure. - but then it started being a bit of a slog for me mid-way through.

I found it difficult to keep all the myriad characters straight (even with the character list from the website), and Verghese has a tendency to overwrite some sections and then hurry through others, so they don't make much impact. A death of one major character was just dropped in so nonchalantly that I couldn't even remember their passing and had to have a friend who buddy read it with me (who VERY kindly sent me an autographed copy!!) remind me of the particulars.

This also veers quite a lot into the 'misery porn' genre - I often had the feeling the author introduced subsidiary characters into the narrative just so he could give them pain, suffering and awful deaths. Verghese's prose style is perfunctory and rarely very exciting, and the turns of fate are often predictable - when another major character seemingly drowns halfway through, you just KNOW they are going to reappear at the denouement. But the basic storyline buried in the 715 pages is for the most part entertaining, and the ending is guaranteed to get the eyes all misty - but I sure wish the editor had excised a good 200 or so pages.

A beautifully written story of love family and redemption.
Thanks netgalley for allowing me to read this book for an honest review

A beautifully written novel of faith, family, tragedy, and resilience.  A Covenant of Water is set in the  Southern Indian state of Kerala.  The story opens in the early twentieth century with the arranged marriage between an impoverished twelve year old girl, Mariamma, and a man more than three times her age.  As her new family begins to grow and prosper, Mariamma soon discovers that members of her husband's family suffer from a mysterious, multi-generational malady that results in death by drowning.  Despite many years of prosperity, trials, and family growth, this "condition" periodically strikes unexpectedly and results in the tragic death of a beloved family member.  An aging Mariamma, now known as Big Ammachi, clings to her devout Christian faith, and prays for a miracle that will save her family from more needless tragedy.

The Covenant of Water is a massive, page-turner of a novel, with a gripping plot, exotic setting, complex characters, and brilliant writing that will have you laughing out loud one moment, and on the verge of tears the next.  The author, an accomplished physician, skillfully weaves his abundant scientific knowledge into the story, thereby making medical conditions and descriptions come to life. The Covenant of Water is a beautifully unique novel, and truly a must-read.

I so loved this book. Its length may deter some readers, but those that read to the end will be rewarded. I’m not going to recap the “story” or plot here as that can be found in many places. However, I want to share my total enjoyment. The underlying themes of water and family are so beautifully written and incorporated into the book that I found myself rereading entire passages just for the joy of doing so.

Remarkable! Extraordinary! Astounding! My list of incredible words to describe this book is never-ending.
Once again, Verghese has truly created a story that is unforgettable.
To even attempt to summarize the plot of this book would not do it justice. I do know that, upon completion, I felt that I had been on that long, long journey with the characters in the book. The plot lines were so varied and complex and, yet, at the end, everything seemed to fall into place. The people who inhabited these pages had story upon story to convey and I eagerly awaited their voyages.
Brilliant!

A saga, a secret and a big heart is what makes up The Covenant of Water. Dr. Verghese takes his readers on a journey to Kerala starting at 1900s and all the way till 1970s where the geography undergoes transformation under various political and social changes. But doesn't change is the flow of water, the thrum of the currents under the boat and the secret, a condition that afflicts this family, every generation.

All rivers run to the sea - is perhaps the best way to explain this book. The family that starts with a young girl married to an older widower with a child expands to multiple generations of family and relatives, all connected and interconnected by stories only to have a possibly hopeful ending.

This was an enjoyable read though it could have been trimmed by a quarter. of its length

An epic historical family saga set over 7 decades in South India, later Kerala. I couldn’t do justice to all the interlinking storylines, so I won’t even try. This is a book to sink into and soak up all that it has to offer. Multi-generational and multi-themed, with all those disparate plots lines expertly woven together, I found it a truly compelling read. Possibly a little over-written, possibly a little too long – that I can accede - but for me it made no difference, I enjoyed every page.

“She is twelve years old, and she will be married in the morning. Mother and daughter lie on the mat, their wet cheeks glued together."

I was hooked from the very beginning and like his previous book, Cutting for Stone, I did not want it to end. A true saga and multigenerational tale, Covenant covers eight decades and three generations. Every character is connected, not unlike the waters of the world.

I don’t have much to say that hasn’t already been said about this stunning piece of literature. I so enjoyed all of the rich cultural and medical details. I have been trying to write a review for months, but find it very difficult to do! So just let me say it is easily one of the best books of the year and worth every moment.

“We don't have children to fulfill our dreams. Children allow us to let go of the dreams we were never meant to fulfill.”

Thank you @netgalley and @grovepress for the digital ARC.

Covenant of Water is one of the most beautiful and deeply affecting books I have ever read. It will go down as one of my top ten reads of all time. Verghese is a wordsmith whose skillful language crafts a world of pain and suffering which is redeemed by the ties of family love. Just read it! Yes, it’s a big book, but I promise, you won’t notice, because you won’t be able to put it down. Just don’t plan on getting anything done while you’re reading The Covenant of Water. Truly exceptional, full of deep wisdom, and highly recommended for all readers who enjoy fine literature.

I fell into this book, as one falls into a river on its relentless course. It carried me through generations of a family I came to know through its members, some compelling, some burdened by care, all living within the restraints of life in a society divided by caste and outside influences. Yet, the author carries readers on pages of lyrical writing, and no joys are left behind. And, few medical procedures are left undescribed. That was a hard swallow for me, but after my time investment in this book, I was not sorry for the experience of staying through the hard details of educative medical events in the lives of characters devoted to the medical practice through the generations.

We stand on the shoulders of those who've gone before us. Whether we acknowledge it or not, we stand in places we've been brought to by, within just a few generations, people whose details we may not know specifically, but whose consequences affect us daily and whose features we see every time we look in a mirror. The burdens they managed and sacrifices they made set our paths. If we were lucky enough to know them or hear their stories, they truly become part of our dream, our river. Knowledge of that and our response to it, comprises some of our best treasures in life, and provides some of the best answers to the questions we have about our lives. Abraham Verghese shares some of his best treasures in this book.

Uncovering and identifying the path of past generations is my favorite kind of work. Thank you, Abraham Verghese. I'll be thinking of this one for a long time.

* A Sincere Thank You to Abraham Verghese, Grove Atlantic, and NetGalley for an ARC to read and review. #TheCovenantofWater #NetGalley *

This was an absolutely fascinating book, a very riveting read, though just a tad bit long. We meet Mariamma (later Big Ammachi), a 12 year old girl getting ready for her marriage to a 40 year old widowed man who has a young son. She has reservations about the marriage, as part of it she's moving to a region quite a distance from where she lived and leaving her mother behind. Things could have gone very bad, but, her husband, who, when he found out she was very young, was not going to proceed with the marriage, he was eventually talked into it, and he was a kind and decent man, waiting until she was older before having relations with her and letting her run the house. The story goes mostly forward in time, starting in 1900, but at times it will jump back to cover something that had been brought up in the present to explain what happened. There is a lot of things going on in this story, India was under British rule at the beginning, then became independent split into India and Pakistan (a violent split) and through it all life continues for Mariamma and the people that live around her (I would describe it as a small village to start, all owned by her husband). Descendants of her husbands family may be born with a Condition, that makes them fear water, it's not until much later in the story that what causes this condition is resolved, by a granddaughter. I really enjoyed this book, the author is a physician and there are numerous instances where medical intervention saved the lives of people. At 700+ pages it is a book that requires dedication to complete and I for one am very happy that I did. I would highly recommend. Thanks to #Netgalley and #Grove Press for the ARC.