The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese

Summary: The story unfolds in Kerala from 1900 to 1977, following three generations of a family plagued by a strange curse: someone drowns in every generation. It kicks off with a twelve-year-old girl from a Christian community who, while mourning her father, heads to her wedding on a boat to meet her much older husband for the first time. As the future matriarch, Big Ammachi, will experience all sorts of ups and downs throughout her life, but her faith and love remain solid anchors in a world filled with changes, joys, and losses.

Review: This is my first Verghese and I chose right. I made the right decision. If you follow me on IG then you know I DNFed this book halfway. Let’s say I took a break, read other books and came back to it. And OMG, it got better.

I enjoyed this multigenerational story masterfully weaved by Verghese. Before I get to the end, which got me shell-shocked, I would like to say Verghese left no family stone unturned. Verghese wrote one hell of a book, every little detail of the families, and how their actions and inactions will impact generations is highlighted in the book. It is not just the big moments in the book, but I came to realize in the end that a lot of the small details in this family saga actually matter.

This book highlights the struggles that previous generations went through for our sake today. It’s not just a story; it’s a piece of art that speaks to those experiences. 

The writing in the book is heavy yet surprisingly easy to digest, packing deep emotions that resonate. After discussing it with Bene, I can confidently say it's worth every page and a great reading experience. It is worth every twist and turn. Honestly, this is one of the best literary works I've seen in a while.

Another thing is that Verghese captured women well in this book. Verghese portrayed the women in the story as capable and the backbone of families and the development of society in the face of societal changes and political events.