Title- The Covenant of Water
Author- Abraham Verghese
Publisher- Grove Atlantic
Pages- 736
Rating- 4.5/5
Summary- When Big Ammachi gets married to the Parambil family, she is twelve. Her husband, a widower, is forty and has a child. His family has a secret. They have a history of drownings where in every generation, there has been at least one person who has drowned unexpectedly. Those people were known to avoid water throughout their life, and this trait seems to be inherited. In Kerala, a land of water bodies, it is hard to believe such a thing (as water is a part of everyone's life) until one day, Big Ammachi, too, loses a loved one. It is then that she prays to the Almighty to either cure this "Condition" (as the family calls it) or send someone who can do so. Will God listen to her prayers, or will people keep losing their lives? Starting from 1900 until 1977, this is a story spanning three generations.
Review- When I was about to start this book, I was a bit intimidated, considering its length. However, the author's writing skill was enough to erase such prejudice. The way he has described the landscape of Kerala has made me yearn to visit there once again (even though I have been there once). The book lets the readers experience the way of life in a Malayalam household. The author's words have also done justice in describing India under British rule. Even though the book has a lot of medical terms and descriptions of human anatomy, it blends well with the plot and does not disrupt the narrative. Love and bond between family members are essential themes of the story.
There are a vast number of characters present in the plot considering its massive timeline. However, as the story proceeds, the reader will get to know them and connecting them with the account will not be an issue.
I was impressed by how the author has described the medical terms so that readers not into medicine will not find any problem in understanding. Though this is a family saga, there is a lot of suspense, which will grip you until the last page. It is a must-read book for all fiction lovers.
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