Book Review: The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese

My Rating: 4.5⭐

"All families have secrets, but not all secrets are meant to deceive.”

Dr. Abraham Verghese’s The Covenant of Water follows three generations of an Indian Malayali Christian family in Kerala spanning from 1900 to the 1970s. As the novel begins, we meet twelve-year-old Mariamma preparing for her wedding day. Her groom is a forty-year-old widower with a young son – the owner of a vast expanse of land in Parambil. Unbeknownst to her at the time of marriage (and revealed to her after a tragic loss) is the fact that her husband’s side of the family is plagued by a “condition” that has caused several family tragedies related to drowning across generations. We follow Mariamma or Big Ammachi as she is called and her family through the following decades, and how the condition impacts the lives of those whom she holds dear. Parallel to the Parambil narrative we also follow the stories of Digby Kilgour a Scottish doctor who joins the Indian Medical Services in British India as well as Dr. Rune Orquist who devotes his life to the care of leprosy patients. Though the different threads of the story might seem a tad disjointed, the author weaves these threads into an expansive, breathtakingly beautiful narrative.

“What defines a family isn’t blood but the secrets they share.”

The novel deals with themes of family, tradition, legacy, grief, love and sacrifice and also explores sensitive issues such as colonialism, discrimination and addiction. I enjoyed this story – the characters, the setting, the elegant prose and descriptive detail, the history of the Parambil family, the portrayal of India and Indians under British rule and how India transitioned into an independent nation and the social and political changes that followed. The author draws upon the spice trade in India and the history, culture, traditions and rituals of the Malayali Christian community in India. The author also incorporates how the advancement of medical sciences has contributed to gaining insight into illnesses that were once difficult to define into the narrative. The author’s writing is descriptive and he pays great attention to detail. There are several characters and subplots woven into this narrative and while the volume might appear a tad intimidating, this story was not ambiguous or too complicated to follow.

There are a few minor issues that I should mention. First and foremost, this is an extremely lengthy novel (730+ pages). Those who follow my reviews will know that I don’t find lengthy novels daunting and I’m more than happy to be swept away by a long, fulfilling read as I was with this book, but I feel that this story could have been shorter. Though the author brings all the threads of this story together in a satisfying ending, the multitude of themes, characters and subplots do not allow all the themes to be explored with equal depth, which is understandable. A few significant historical details from the period are mentioned but not explored beyond how they immediately impact the characters in question. There are several descriptive scenes of medical/surgical procedures in the course of this story, which might not make for interesting reading for those not interested in the same. The narrative does suffer from minor repetitiveness but not so much that would lose interest in the story.

The Author has taken inspiration from his mother who jotted down facts about her life and family history in a forty-page manuscript in answer to her granddaughter’s questions. It is evident from his writing that the author has poured his heart and soul into this novel. Evocative, insightful, heartbreaking yet hopeful, The Covenant of Water is a memorable read.

Many thanks to Grove Atlantic and NetGalley for the digital review copy of this novel. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

"Ammachi, when I come to the end of a book, and I look up, just four days have passed. But in that time, I've lived through three generations and learned more about the world and about myself than I do during a year in school. Ahab, Queequeg, Ophelia, and other characters die on the page so that we might live better lives."

UPDATE (MAY 11, 2023):

I just finished the audiobook narrated by the author! You'd think that after a 700+ read , I'd shy away from a 30+ hour listen, but I couldn't stop thinking about this book! I had mentioned in my review of the novel that it felt like the author poured his heart and soul into the writing and I now say the same for the audio narration.The author’s calm, heartfelt narration is simply outstanding! I would definitely recommend the book,  pairing the book with the audio narration or simply opting for the audiobook if you find the page count daunting!