The Covenant of Water

Abraham Verghese

May 2023 · RB Media · Narrated by Abraham Verghese

About this audiobook

From the New York Times–bestselling author of Cutting for Stone comes a stunning and magisterial epic of love, faith, and medicine, set in Kerala, South India, following three generations of a family seeking the answers to a strange secret

The Covenant of Water is the long-awaited new novel by Abraham Verghese, the author of the major word-of-mouth bestseller Cutting for Stone, which has sold over 1.5 million copies in the United States alone and remained on the New York Times bestseller list for over two years.

Spanning the years 1900 to 1977, The Covenant of Water is set in Kerala, on India’s Malabar Coast, and follows three generations of a family that suffers a peculiar affliction in every generation, at least one person dies by drowning—and in Kerala, water is everywhere. At the turn of the century, a
twelve-year-old girl from Kerala’s Christian community, grieving the death of her father, is sent by boat to her wedding, where she will meet her forty-year-old husband for the first time. From this unforgettable new beginning, the young girl—and future matriarch, Big Ammachi—will witness unthinkable
changes over the span of her extraordinary life, full of joy and triumph as well as hardship and loss, her faith and love the only constants.

A shimmering evocation of a bygone India and of the passage of time itself, The Covenant of Water is a hymn to progress in medicine and to humanunderstanding, and a humbling testament to the hardships undergone by past generations for the sake of those alive today. Imbued with
humor, deep emotion, and the essence of life, it is one of the most masterful literary novels published in recent years.

Ratings and reviews

Not for me. Child grooming, whether from a different culture and time is still child grooming. I'm also not good when there are no likeable characters in the main story. We had the little girl for a bit, but after her story went into the background I tapped out. I had no one else to care about. It's rare for me to not finish a book, but after reading up to the 49% mark of the book I couldn't take it anymore. I rage-quit.

Beautifully written. However, by Part 6, chapter 54. I am done. I have become bored at the pace. I may come back to it in a few months, for now, I have lost interest in the characters.

I love the author's writing style and you can see his love and passion through his words!