Author Abraham Verghese’s previous novel, “Cutting for Stone,” occupies a prestigious literary spotlight as it’s spent more than two years on a bestseller list. “The Covenant of Water,” released in May 2023, could well do the same.
It’s a tome for sure, spanning slightly more than 700 pages and, for me, was a luscious piece of literature; part of me didn’t want it to end. At the same time, it flows effortlessly, like the author’s ever-present theme of water, over rough and smooth parts that carry you along, twisting and converging and ultimately connecting to a beautiful and restorative end, like a stream eventually becoming a river or a river finding its home in the sea.
Mr. Verghese’s characters are as vast as the number of pages they occupy. In many ways, the characters are all heroes of their respective environments, endowed with intrinsic goodness yet victims to life’s vagaries. There are many tragedies and many triumphs.
Stories Full of Hope
As the reader learns more about this cavalcade of characters spanning some three generations, their souls are what speak the loudest as they endure suffering as well as hope-filled moments of ecstatic joy. Their spirits loom large and manifest themselves in myriad ways, from painting and writing to the study of medicine.Their voices are memorable and enduring. Mr. Verghese has managed, through his masterful use of language, rhythm, mood, and suspense, to create an utterly sweeping and enthralling epic that will have readers quickly absorbed and turning the pages as the story’s decades pass.
The story begins in 1900 with a 12-year-old girl about to be wed to an older man. It takes place in Kerala on India’s Malabar Coast. Hers is an unwanted, arranged marriage. When the book comes to a close in 1977, her physician granddaughter discovers a life-changing secret.
What transpires between these decades would fill far more space than this review allows, and perhaps spoil your picking up the book, but know that it is packed full and is completely absorbing.
A peculiar malady plagues this family: In each generation, at least one person has various symptoms that somehow, but not always, lead to a death by drowning. So while water is all around them in their daily lives, those marked with “the Condition” experience their lives forever altered, lest their relationship with water prove fatal.
Rich, Elegant Prose
Readers will learn in detail about surgical procedures, anatomy, and various medical interventions and practices. Mr. Verghese is more than qualified to write about things medical. He is vice chair of the Department of Medicine at the Stanford University School of Medicine.His combined expertise as a physician and writer adds great depth to this story. Layers of skin may be pulled back, needles inserted, or blood spurting, but it’s the layers of emotions—the layers of love—and the strength of the spirit that is revealed and, in many cases, healed.
The book will immerse readers in India’s history during this timeframe: architecture, consequences of its caste system, social upheavals, foods and family dynamics, progress and politics. Faith and love are constant throughout.
The plot is thick like muddied waters, and dense at times in its complications and coincidences, but truth emerges clearly and with a resonating clarity. Readers will applaud when good things happen to good people. There are also times when tragedy strikes, as in nature life and death have their seasons, but malice is not a motive. Sorrows and grief are sad paths but not the end. Hope prevails.
The plot reveals itself like the intricately folded drapes of the women’s sarees: colorful, controlled, and yet free to fly in the wind.
This novel is a sweeping testament to the strength of the human spirit. Secrets are kept and revealed, secrets that can tear families apart. Sorrows unburdened can be lessened. Joys shared can be tripled.
This story is a wealth of stories, heaped one on the other, each told with unsurpassed beauty and unique dynamics. Mr. Verghese, perhaps from his role as a professor of medicine, offers readers not only compelling stories, but also instructions for living with themes of atonement, forgiveness, and unconditional love.
Mr. Verghese seems to use his writing as a way of dealing with life’s mortality. Physicians see death sometimes on a daily basis; they hear so many stories of suffering, and they may be guarded against getting too emotionally involved or having too much empathy. The writing process gives Mr. Verghese some control over his characters’ fates.
My suspicion is that his characters almost dictate what will happen next. They are that vibrant.
There’s a twist at the end of this tome. I share that to encourage you to read it. This triumphal story had me teary.
