Abraham Verghese, the acclaimed author of CUTTING FOR STONE, has given the world a new epic, this one set in the Kerala region of India in an area filled with devout St. Thomas Christians. In 773 pages, from 1900-1977, it traces one family living with an unexplained “Condition“ in which a child in every generation drowns. Verghese’s medical knowledge makes the chapters set in a hospital for lepers and in medical schools both realistic and compelling. In essence, though, this is a novel about love, forgiveness, and sacrifice. The last chapters are particularly strong and beautiful. Verghese builds wonderful multi-faceted characters, especially matriarch Big Ammachi who every reader will want as their grandmother. This novel is a fable and it’s fabulous.

Beautifully written with fully fleshed out character and detailed perspectives -- all full of thought. As several other reviewers have stated, it is very long and a little short on plot so you need to be in the mood for something that absorbs you completely but to which you will need to devote a great amount of time and patience. You end up "living" other lives and living takes time!

Truly an amazing and enthralling novel! The characters who people this story are so real they’ve invaded my dreams. But besides the captivating story, there is so much information on India, on medicine, on leprosy that I’ve come away with a new understanding of each. It is so worth the time to be immersed in this longer than usual novel.

Thanks to NetGalley and Grove Press for the ARC to read and review.

Review published at NPR on May 02, 2023. Opening excerpt below.

“Much will be written about Abraham Verghese’s multigenerational South Indian novel in the coming months and years.

As we’ve seen with Verghese’s earlier fiction, there will be frequent references to that other celebrated doctor-writer, Anton Chekhov. There will also be continued invocations of the likes of Charles Dickens and George Eliot to describe Verghese’s ambitious literary scope and realism. Indeed, the literary feats in The Covenant of Water deserve to be lauded as much as those of such canonical authors.

We would also do well to consider Covenant as part of the Indian novel in English lineage that includes literary greats like Raja Rao, K Nagarajan, O V Vijayan, and R K Narayan. Like the unforgettable rural South Indian worlds those authors bestowed upon us with places like Kanthapura, Kedaram, Khasak, and Malgudi, respectively, Verghese has given us Parambil, a water-filled, near-mythical dreamscape in Kerala. Rao’s immortal opening line for his Kanthapura fits Verghese’s Covenant too: “There is no village in India, however mean, that has not a rich sthalapurana, or legendary history, of its own.” And, like Rao’s story, Verghese’s also opens with a storytelling grandmother.”

I received this book for free from Netgalley. That did not influence this review.

Lately I’ve been reading some good books, some great books, and some mediocre books. And now, I’ve just finished reading The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese, which is in a category all by itself. This novel is monumental. I think I loved it even more than I loved Verghese’s earlier Cutting for Stone.

Some novels draw you in slowly. Others capture you from the very first words. The Covenant of Water is one of the latter. It is a long book, over 700 pages, but it reads quickly because it is impossible to put down.

This sprawling multi-generational saga follows, in particular, the life story of Ammachi (Big Ammachi) of Parambil in South India. In 1900, at the age of 12, she marries a widower with a young child and she grows to become the matriarch of the family and a pillar of the community. Her husband’s family has a long history of a strange “condition,” a familial inheritance of a tendency to die by drowning. The future victim can be identified by their avoidance of water and varying degrees of deafness. This fascinating medical oddity is tracked through the generations, influencing the course of their lives.

The second major protagonist is Digby, a surgeon from Glasgow who enters the Indian Medical Service because, as a Catholic, he is denied further training in the British system. Digby is a kind, lonely man and an excellent surgeon. However, a scuffle with his chief and a disastrous love affair force his exile from Madras and he must make a new life for himself.

There are too many characters to mention and too many twists and turns of the plot to summarize more. And yet, Verghese manages to keep the interest level high with his beautiful prose and his well-developed characters. Their lives all connect like the system of rivers and canals on which they live. The story manages to be completely realistic even as a tiny bit of magical realism is injected. I was particularly fascinated by the medical aspects of the storyline, but there is something in here for everyone.

I can’t recommend this book highly enough.

Oh my, "The Covenant of Water" by Abraham Verghese is absolute perfection. It's a stunner of a novel, with lyrical and complex prose. The richly detailed writing creates vivid characters and settings so real I swear I could smell the water that features so prominently throughout the novel. I was completely transported to Southern India to dwell amongst the St. Thomas Christians; the real world ceased to exist as I devoured page after page. Though it is a lengthy read, I was never intimidated and never found my attention wandering, the story is that powerful. I was swept up and along by the currents of the characters' lives and I laughed and cried right alongside them. I will not soon forget this epic work of historical fiction and it has earned a place on the shelf amongst my other all time favorite books. Thank you NetGalley, Abraham Verghese, and Grove Press. it was truly a privilege to read this outstanding book.

An absolutely exquisite family epic from the author of Cutting For Stone.

Set in India starting at the turn of the 20th century, The Covenant of Water follows the family of Big Ammachi over the course of several generations. Plagued by a “Condition” of accidental drownings in the branches of the family tree, the fears and consequences associated with the condition drive the actions of the main characters.

Full of love, sacrifice and true to Abraham Verghese, medicine, The Covenant of Water is a tour de force and a true work of literary art.

Highly recommended for fans of epic historical fiction, generational stories, and literary fiction.

Huge thank you to NetGalley, Grove Press, and Abraham Verghese for an advanced reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is a multi-generational story of a family in Kerala with a propensity for drowning. It's gently told (even when describing hard things like the death of a beloved child), and individual sections are beautifully described. However, although I enjoy family sagas and have appreciated Verghese's earlier books, this book felt long and slow. The central character, who is not named but is eventually called Big Ammachi, is an unquestioning witness to her long life, and while I appreciated her gentle acceptance, I wanted a point of view character with a larger range. While all the threads come together in the end, readers should go into this book with a similar patience and acceptance.

Thanks to the publisher, Netgalley, and the author for an earc in exchange for an honest review.

“The Covenant of Water,” by Abraham Verghese, Grove Press, 736 pages, May 2, 2023.

“The Covenant of Water” is set in the small community of Saint Thomas Christians in Kerala, on South India’s Malabar Coast. The family that lives on the estate of Parambil has an affliction. In every generation, going back seven, at least one family member drowns. And in Kerala, water is everywhere.

The story begins in 1900. A 12-year-old girl, grieving the death of her father, is sent by her uncle to marry a 40-year-old man she has never met. The groom is a widower who has a two-year-old son, JoJo.

The groom walks miles to avoid water. JoJo calls the bride Ammachi, meaning little mother. She eventually becomes Big Ammachi, the family matriarch. Her life is the main focus of the novel. Her birth name isn’t revealed until over halfway through the book.

At 16, she gives birth to Baby Mol, a special needs daughter gifted with prophecy, and then to a son, Philipose, who becomes a newspaper columnist as an adult. Philipose marries Elsie, a talented artist. They have a son, Ninan, and a daughter, Mariamma. Mariamma grows up to be a neurosurgeon. She tries to find the cause of the drownings.

Part two is set in Glasgow, Scotland in 1919. Digby Kilgour’s mother works in a factory. His father abandoned them. When he gets a college scholarship, he plans to study medicine. When he becomes a doctor, he joins the Indian Medical Service, hoping to get surgical experience. He travels to Madras and eventually runs a leprosarium.

This is a historical family tale, a chronicle of medical care and of women in medicine. The characters are unforgettable. There are beautiful descriptions of the country. All the pieces of the story fall together in a way the reader won’t see coming. “The Covenant of Water” will receive many awards and rightly so.

Abraham Verghese said “The Covenant of Water” is based on a manuscript his mother, Mariam, wrote for her first granddaughter when she asked what her grandmother’s life was like when she was a child. Verghese is also the author of the best-selling “Cutting for Stone.”

In accordance with FTC guidelines, the advance reader's edition of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for a review.

I feel like I’m usually afraid of thick books. There is a big time commitment involved. When I saw Verghese’s new book on @netgalley- I immediately requested it even as I knew it would be a chonker. And at over 700 pages it is definitely a big time commitment- but I didn’t regret one minute of the time spent reading this beautifully written saga spanning 8 years in India. His words dance off the page and there were so many lines I highlighted.

“The grandmother is certain of a few things: A tale that leaves its imprint on a listener tells the truth about how the world lives, and so, unavoidably, it is about families, their victories and wounds, and their departed, including the ghosts who linger; it must offer instructions for living in God’s realm, where joy never spares one from sorrow. A good story goes beyond what a forgiving God cares to do: it reconciles families and unburdens them of secrets whose bond is stronger than blood.”

Honestly, need I say more? Yes- this is a big book, yes there are some slower parts and parts you will like more than others. But the end result is a masterpiece of stories woven together in a heartbreaking and hopeful way.

I learned so much about the Indian culture, colonialism, medicine, nature and the many faces of love.

“This is the covenant of water: that they’re all linked inescapably by their acts of commission and omission, and no one stands alone.”

My review does not do this book justice. I just loved it. I was lucky to be traveling - so I had much uninterrupted flight reading time. This time investment is worth it. snkruse has posted a review that perfectly says what I feel about this story.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ and a highly recommend from me. I hope you’ll pick this one up!

Thank you netgalley andgroveatlantic for the ARC to read and review❤️

I was so excited when I heard that Abraham Verghese's next novel was being published. I immediately requested an ARC and it became my most anticipated novel of 2023. The Covenant of Water had big shoes to fill after Cutting with Stone, but it did not disappoint. It is another epic novel that follows 3 generations of a family across almost 80 years in South India. Verghese writes so beautifully that I never felt like I was reading a 736-page book. I just sank in and took my time reading the story he was telling. I learned about religion, politics, medicine, and more, and their repercussions on these families. I learned so much while reading this novel and was constantly looking up the events that were being written about. There is plenty of plot and many twists and turns surrounding these characters. While I suspected some of the twists earlier in the book, I still didn't "figure out" all, which I am sure is exactly how the masterful storyteller Verghese meant for it.
Thank you so much to #Netgalley and #GrovePress for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Well… I’m not really finished with this book. I got to 40% and i am wiped out.
I’m done.. no enthusiasm to pick this up anymore, and I am so disappointed because when I saw that this author had a new book, I was very excited. I’m a huge fan of Cutting For Stone!
So, this was way too tedious and I just didn’t care about anyone but Big Amachi.. who in the beginning was married off at 12 yrs old too a much older widower with a young son.. this man ended up being a strong..big.. gentle giant and I only cared about them. My three stars are because of having their story in the book.
It went off in other directions .. many other characters and situations and SO MUCH detail..
I can’t go on…
Don’t let me deter you.. there are many 5 star ratings!

Thanks to Netgalley and Grove Atlantic, Grove Press for the ARC!

I was well aware that the book is over 700 pages long so unlike some other reviewers I was not put off because it was "long and detailed". An epic story of history, family and love set in the south of India spanning 70 years. Absolutely loved it!

I highlighted this book on my Booktube channel. The video will go live on 5/2. It can be accessed here: https://youtu.be/pzQav65QRAM

The Covenant of Water is a multigenerational and multicultural story. While it focuses on Big Ammachi, the matriarch of the Parambil family estate in India, the telling encompasses many lives and perspectives. I consider this story to be a beautiful ghost story, full of real life hauntings, fable, and myth. The novel is set in Kerala, a land abundant with water, Christian roots, and natural beauty. I enjoyed many things from this 5-star read:

First, the book is studded with figurative medical terminology. It is an artful use of language that is nothing like I have ever read before in a novel. There is a moment in chapter two when the narrator begins to outline Kerala’s colonial history—starting with an image of a scalpel cutting into soil. Exploratory surgery is the metaphor for this colonial history lesson: a cancerous story to be excised from the land in order to be told in this moment.

One of my favorite things about Big Ammachi, the matriarch and main character, is how she is guided by her senses, especially her sense of hearing. Throughout the story, she listens—to everything. In her sensitive ears are many wise words and voices. Heard and heeded with equal clarity, she takes in the lessons of nature, God, ghosts, saints, her late father, and her prophetic daughter, to name a few.

Let’s look at an endearing example from chapter three. In the scene, Big Ammachi’s sense of smell is her guide. On the first night in her new home, newly married and 12 years old, she wakes up to her new family’s elephant holding a bouquet of fragrant, uprooted jasmine over her bed. It is dark and hard to see what’s happening above her. She’s rightfully frightened, but immediately soothed by the scent of jasmine. The scent allows her to collect herself and see the magic of this moment: a gentle, wild giant, who we learn is an elephant named Damo, came to visit her with flowers, and she follows this newfound family member out into the night.

Book Quote:
“She can neither move nor scream, even though she knows something terrible is about to happen to her in this mysterious, landlocked house…but would death smell like jasmine?”

I swam swiftly through this 700+ page book. The scenes come in a steady current. Like water, the POVS are ever-changing too. Don’t worry: the ripple of changing perspectives is not confusing! The omniscient narrator steers the boat well. The journey through gently changing POVs is a smooth one that makes sense and mixes things up in a delightful way.

If you’re an annotator interested in exploring craft and tracking thematic patterns, you’re going to enjoy this read. I highly recommend picking a unique tab or highlighter color for each of the following topics:
(1) The creative use of figurative medical terminology in the writing
(2) How rocks appear in many forms in the story. You’ll encounter burden stones along pathways on the Parambil estate, a garden of rock-hewn sculptures on the beach in Cochin, gall stones that threat a woman’s life, and much more.
(3) The theme of oneness. The word is directly mentioned several times in the text. The theme appears in contrast to and in conjunction with the separateness imposed by caste systems, both Indian and British.

Closing note: Part 2’s medical drama, intrigue, and urban hospital setting could seamlessly fit into a season of Grey’s Anatomy. I make this comparison reverently. I am a since-day-one fan of Grey’s and devoured this section of the book—it’s full of detailed, graphic operating room scenes and medical anomalies that drive the plot, gritty social commentary, and a doctor’s forbidden love affair. A perfect recipe for diehard Grey’s Anatomy fans.

I really loved the idea behind this book, and the setting and mood of the book overall was fantastic. I loved reading about this history and traditions of India. There were A LOT of characters and this was a slow burn so I did struggle to keep the story straight and keep everything in mind. This book was also very long and not a lot happened between some of the chapters. Overall, I enjoyed this book but just wish it had been more compacted. This was my first novel by this author and I am still intrigued to read more from Abraham Verghese.

What I liked:
▪️compelling rich characters, people I wept over and cheered for
▪️gorgeous writing
▪️personal, familial connections to this book - it came from his heart and his life experiences
▪️deep provocative thoughtful themes, interwoven across generations

What I Struggled With:
▪️lack of plot
▪️desperately needed a character list and family tree of connections - with the length and the number of people, it was hard for my brain to keep track of everyone
▪️a turn towards Christian preaching in end totally lost me, skim read it - ditto the plethora of details on medicine, surgery, etc.
▪️far too long - I could cut two hundred pages easily

I think this is a perfect book to do as a buddy read or book club, small bites at a time. The sections lend itself to division, as certain parts switch to completely new characters. It is worthy of group discussion, and for me, worth the over 700 pages, but a support group would have helped.

“𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳: 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺’𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘺 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘰 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘦.”

Although it is overly long and sometimes preachy and pedantic, The Covenant of Water is a compelling read. It's a rich saga of the trials and tribulations (of which there are many) of a Christian Indian family in rural Kerala as they experience the slow slide into modernity with its losses and rewards. Every one of the many characters who populate this novel is fully realized with all their flaws and goodness made real. Even the occasional "magical realism" incidents come across as believable and add richness to the narrative.

If we had to wait almost 15 years since Cutting for Stone for Abraham Verghese’s next novel, The Covenant of Water does not disappoint. Here is a heart wringing story that weaves characters spanning time and place, worthy of savoring every word. Books like this I regret ever end and I usually do reread, listen to the audio version, revisit., shove into hands.

Thank you to NetGalley for lending this arc read to me. I was immediately drawn to the description of this novel. and the historical aspects of it.

I will say that it took awhile for me to get through the first couple of pages but I'll chalk it up to the simple fact that I am more of a mood reader and it seemed a little slow for me. Once I got over that first hurdle I found that I was really getting into this story about a young girl put into an arranged marriage. Her story about navigating her new life and family. We got a range of different things happening including a tragedy that seems to be repetitive. A curse even.

Unfortunately, I could not finish the book after that. It switched perspectives and I just could not get into it the same way. I wanted to know more about the girl. than anything else. Then I saw how many pages this novel was and with how slow paced it was it wasn't for me.

I give it three stars bases off the concept and the part that I read. I may pick it up again sometime.