World Literature

I think titles, by their very nature, should be a bit mysterious. Every reader takes away what they think the title means. For me, the final interpretation of a book is never my interpretation. It’s a collaborative act between reader and writer that should create a movie playing out in the reader’s head. If you write a novel set in Kerala, water is inescapable; it is the prevailing metaphor for everything. We’re talking about a land with forty-four rivers, countless lagoons, lakes, streams, back waters, fingerlike projections into the sea. Water is the great beating heart of the state. It affects the commerce, the industry, their metaphors, their way of being. ― Abraham Verghese, Interview, Poets & Writers Magazine

What booksellers are saying about The Covenant of Water

• We’ve waited a long time for a new novel from the incredibly talented Abraham Verghese and this was worth the wait! The Covenant of Water is a captivating, sweeping epic that follows three generations of a family in coastal India. In his stunning prose, Verghese weaves a tapestry of secrets and sacrifices these remarkable characters make throughout their lives, all in an effort to understand and escape the inexplicable affliction that has plagued their family tree – mysterious drownings. Lyrical, moving and unforgettable!
    ― Anderson McKean from Page & Palette in Fairhope, AL | Buy from Page & Palette
  
  
• Do not be daunted by the size of this book! It’s such a great read and you will learn, very quickly, to care about the people in the generations of this story. From the accepted caste system; the emotional crises that families experience; the phenomenal progression of science and medicine; the abiding love that continues to hold these generations together…all are beautifully intertwined in this amazing book!
    ―Karen Solar from Copperfish Books in Punta Gorda, FL | Buy from Copperfish Books
  
  
• Abraham Verghese has done it again with an epic story that takes the reader from 1990 through the 1970’s in rural India. It’s the tale of one woman, Big Ammachi, her family’s curse, and the doctor that comes to India to learn medicine, but finds himself. Lovable characters who create a family and a deep sense of community make this book a must read. .
    ―Monie Henderson from Square Books in Oxford, MS | Buy Square Books
  
  
• Fans of Cutting For Stone (and there are many, including me), will be thrilled with Dr. Verghese’s first novel in 10 years. The Covenant of Water is a sweeping family saga with Verghese’s beautiful prose. The story of Big Ammachi and her children and grandchildren will captivate and enthrall. Despite it’s length (700 pages), I devoured this book! Both heartbreaking and uplifting, the story has unexpected twists and turns and is not to be missed!
    ―Lynne Phillips from Wordsworth Books in Little Rock, AR | Buy from Wordsworth Books

About Abraham Verghese

Abraham Verghese is a graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop and the author of the NBCC Award finalist My Own Country and the New York Times Notable Book The Tennis Partner. His most recent book, Cutting for Stone, spent 107 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list and sold more than 1.5 million copies in the U.S. alone. It was translated into more than twenty languages and is being adapted for film by Anonymous Content. Verghese was awarded the National Humanities Medal in 2016, has received five honorary degrees, and is an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine and the American Academy of Arts & Sciences. He lives and practices medicine in Stanford, California where he is the Linda R. Meier and Joan F. Lane Provostial Professor and Vice Chair of the Department of Medicine at the Stanford University School of Medicine. A decade in the making, The Covenant of Water is his first book since Cutting for Stone.