Abraham Verghese

Fiction 2023 | 725 pages

I picked it up at the library, and then took it back unread.  Then I did it again.  And then a third time.  I was intimidated by the length (900 pages large print; 725 regular print).  But this last time, I committed and read it through.  What a profound, delightful, meaningful, engaging, powerful, interesting book. (it took me 19 days to read).

We begin in 1900 and follow a family for three generations and across two continents, until Ammachi's granddaughter makes some astounding discoveries at the end of the book, in 1977.  We learn early on about "The Condition," so named by Ammachi, the 12-year-old Indian girl who is forced into an arranged marriage and who eventually becomes the beloved matriarch of this family.  She notices, as does the generation before her, that in every generation, someone dies from drowning.  The drowners also hate the water, and refuse to go near it all of their lives, from fussing under the baptismal font until their final accidental encounter with water.

But soon the book becomes not only about the family, but about land, and the caste system in India, and land growth and development, and leprosy, and advances in the medical field as well as in cultural and social norms.  There is a section near the end about the Indian caste revolution and the democratic election of a Communist government.

The family is complex, with their "secrets" like any family and generations-old relationships both within the family itself and the lower caste that serves them and their land.

Verghese is a doctor who decided mid-career to train at the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, and has gone on to achieve distinction in both fields.  You will enjoy his considerable medical knowledge as well as his very engaging characters and story development.

I must recommend this tome ... it is destined to be a classic.  AND, know that snow days or beach days will help you navigate the length, complexity, and depth of The Covenant of Water.  Please post your thoughts and reactions here.  I will be eager to read what you think about this delightful book.

February 2024