Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese
Book of the Week
‘Covenant of Water’ by Abraham Verghese
Reviewed by Isabella
‘Covenant of Water’ follows a Christian Indian family from 1900 to 1977. A family that seems cursed by what they call ‘the condition’, with each generation seeing one or more members die by drowning. This is the red thread through this incredible book, but just as the branches of a tree (a reference recognized by those who have read the book) the story reaches out in many, multifarious directions through a formidable cast of characters, each and every one memorable, and as if by magic Verghese manages to beautifully weave them all together in what feels like a comforting blanket of new friends you want to spend as much time with as possible.
At the turn of the century a 12 year-old girl is sent to marry a 40 year old man. The young girl will in time become Big Ammachi, the family’s matriarch and bear witness to decades of change, immeasurable joys and immense pain. Big Ammachi and her home, the estate of Parambil, are at the heart of this novel that reaches out across the country through descriptions of historical events - some well known, some more obscure to many of us outside of India and all truly fascinating - as well as through characters that flow in and out of Parambil and much of Kerala (with few but important offshoots to Madras).
At its core ‘Covenant of Water’ is the story of a family, of love and sacrifice and thanks to Verghese’s background as a physician, we are also made privy to the incredible medical strides of the 20th century by brave and brilliant doctors and nurses and how they come to benefit even the least fortunate in a society defined by castes. The novel also manages to weave stories of politics and religion, of societal inequities and, of course, what it meant for India to be colonized by the British.
Verghese is a master at humanizing the inhumane. Your heart will go out to each every one of the (flawed) characters. You will empathize, be shocked, mourn and rejoice throughout ‘Covenant of Water’, so if you haven’t read it yet, a great adventure awaits!
Happy Monday and happy reading!