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The Covenant of Water (Oprah's Book Club)

By Abraham Verghese

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OPRAH’S BOOK CLUB PICK • From the New York Times-bestselling author of Cutting for Stone comes a stunning and magisterial epic of love, faith, and medicine, set in Kerala, South India, following three generations of a family seeking the answers to a strange secret.

Through this glorious story of land and family, spanning the years 1900 to 1977, you will witness unthinkable changes, joy and triumph as well as hardship and loss, and the constant pull of faith and love. "This majestic, sweeping story of family secrets—their curse, their legacy, and their cure—is intimate and profound."—Dani Shapiro, author of SIGNAL FIRES

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736 pages

Average rating: 8.4

750 RATINGS

22 REVIEWS

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Lesleylaw

Apr 24, 2024

10/10 stars

My favourite so far. Beautifully written story. A real page turner.

Anonymous

Mar 24, 2024

4/10 stars

I hesitated to start this because it was 724 pages. Then once I started it, I thought about setting it aside. I'm not a huge fan of such an intricately written and meandering story.

BUT!! The story and the characters did draw me in enough to stick with it "just a little bit more," and the next thing I knew, I was invested in the characters and what was happening.

I see on Goodreads this has a 4.5 star rating. For me, I give it 2.5 stars. It was a v...read more

Tacohen

Feb 21, 2024

10/10 stars

Fabulous epic saga that transports reader to southern India from 1900-1977. Covers 3 generations of a family afflicted by drownings.

Debj

Feb 02, 2024

7/10 stars

Good story and characters, but just too long.

Mapitsi_Makola

Feb 02, 2024

10/10 stars

"We have no practice, he thinks, of seeing our real selves. Even before a mirror we compose our faces to meet our own expectations." What a rollercoaster of emotions!! The Covenant of Water is an intergenerational story delicately packaged into glorious history, set in Kerala in the years 1900 to 1977. We follow the highs and lows (more lows than highs really) of Big Ammachi as a 12year old preparing for her wedding, as the matriarch of Parambil...read more