• Source: The Covenant of Water

The Covenant of Water is a 2023 novel by physician and author Abraham Verghese. The book tells the story of a Malayali family living in southwest India, in the Kerala state, with the narrative spanning three generations, from 1900 to 1977. In each generation, some members of the family die by drowning because of an affliction they refer to as "The Condition”.




Plot


The novel revolves around three generations of an Orthodox Saint Thomas Christian family living in the town of Parambil, in the southwest Indian state of Kerala. The story begins in 1900 with a 12-year-old girl named Mariamma who moves there to marry a 40-year-old widower, called Big Appachen, in an arranged marriage.
Mariamma soon learns of a problem in the family, which they call "the Condition:" in every generation, one or more individuals dies from drowning under suspicious circumstances. The problem is documented with symbols in a family tree called "The Water Tree."
Mariamma's marriage develops into a loving one. She is close to her stepson JoJo, who calls her Big Ammachi (Big Mother). JoJo drowns, but Big Ammachi has two children by Big Appachen, a daughter with developmental disabilities they call Baby Mol and a son named Philipose. Big Ammachi eventually becomes the overseer of the 500-acre family estate and the matriarch of the family.
Meanwhile, Digby Kilgore, a physician who was unable to get the training he needed in Scotland because of his Catholic religion, joins the Indian Medical Service in Madras. He has an affair with Celeste Arnold, his boss' wife. She dies in a fire, and Digby's hands are damaged when he tries to save her. He goes to Dr. Rune Orqvist, a Swedish surgeon who operates a leprosarium, for help. Dr. Orqvist tries to repair Digby's hands, and enlists Elsie, the young daughter of a friend, to help with his rehabilitation by teaching him to draw.
Philipose grows up to be a celebrated writer and marries Elsie, who has become an artist. They have a son named Ninan, who dies, and a daughter named Mariamma after Big Ammachi. When Elsie disappears and is believed dead, Big Ammachi helps Philipose rear Mariamma, thinking her to be her son's daughter. Mariamma becomes a doctor and, after Philipose drowns, starts reading his journals. The information helps her solve the mystery of "The Condition", which is revealed to be Von Recklinghausen disease, but also reveals that her biological father is actually Digby.
Digby, who has taken over management of the leprosarium after the death of Dr. Orqvist, tells Mariamma that her mother is still alive, but she has leprosy and is blind. She left her child with Philipose and Big Ammachi and faked her death when she realized she had the disease because she didn't want to pass it on to her daughter. She went to the leprosarium, where Digby is taking care of her. Mariamma is able to see her mother and learn about her art, which she continues to create but can't show because she doesn't want to be found.




Major Characters


Big Ammachi (Mariamma) - lead character, 12-year-old bride who becomes the matriarch of the family
Big Appachen - widower, husband of Big Ammachi
JoJo - son of Big Appachen and his first wife; step-son of Big Ammachi
Baby Mol - daughter of Big Ammachi and Big Appachen
Philipose - son of Big Ammachi and Big Appachen; writer
Elsie - wife of Philipose; artist
Ninan - son of Elsie and Philipose
Digby Kilgour - A Scottish doctor who immigrates to India to get training in surgery
Claude Arnold - British-educated surgeon; Digby's boss
Celeste Arnold - Claude's wife; Digby's first love
Mariamma - daughter of Digby and Elsie; Big Ammachi's namesake and supposed granddaughter; doctor
Rune Orqvist - Swedish surgeon who runs the Saint Bridget's leper colony
Shamuel - a member of the pulayar caste; foreman of Parambil and Big Appachen's friend
Joppan - son of Shamuel and his wife Sara; Philipose's best friend




Major themes


The caste system in India and the class system in the United Kingdom
Social upheavals, the British colonial presence in India, and the move toward socialism
Family structure in India
Faith and doubt
Love and loss




Background


The novel was inspired by the life story of Verghese's mother Mariamma, to whom the book is dedicated, and is set in southern India where the author's family came from. The book is his fourth, following two non-fiction accounts of his experiences treating AIDS and addiction plus his first novel Cutting for Stone. Verghese originally became a writer when he took a break from his work with AIDS patients and joined the Iowa Writers Workshop at the University of Iowa, where in 1991, he completed a Master of Fine Arts.




Reception


Overall, reviews for the book were positive. According to Book Marks, the book received a "rave" consensus, based on eighteen critic reviews: twelve "rave", three "positive", and three "mixed".
The novel was chosen as an Oprah's book club selection, and she hosted Super Soul Presents: Oprah's Book Club — The Covenant of Water Companion Podcast, a 6-part series of interviews with Verghese. In January 2024, Oprah announced that she had optioned the film rights.
In a mixed review in the New York Times, writer Andrew Solomon criticized the book for not incorporating more subtleties or complexities of Indian culture, stating: "This novel recalls the curry one might get in a small American farm town: exotic by local standards, not wrong in any way, but substantially softened for the locals". Solomon further criticized the characters' development stating the novel "focuses almost entirely on good people (to whom many terrible things happen), and given the complexity of human beings, the surfeit of grace sometimes feels unrealistic and even pretentious...". However, in conclusion, Solomon stated: "While I don't entirely believe in Verghese's characters, I am moved by how much he loves them and, in so doing, makes the reader love them." and "It is a better world for having a book in it that chronicles so many tragedies in a tone that never deviates from hope".
In a positive review, writing for NPR, Jenny Bhatt stated of Verghese's storytelling: "Verghese threads meaningful connections between macrocosmic and microcosmic details so elegantly that they are often barely noticeable at first."
She further states: "Verghese takes his time to reveal how everything, like the waterways there, is connected and eventually flows together".
Writing for The Washington Post, Joan Frank states of Verghese's character development: "Verghese's compassion for his ensemble, which subtly multiplies, infuses every page. So does his ability to inhabit a carousel of sensibilities - including those of myriad women - with penetrating insight and empathy. In conclusion, Frank stated: "The further into the novel readers sink, the more power it accrues".
The book stayed on The New York Times bestseller list for 37 weeks. The newspaper also listed The Covenant of Water as one of its 100 Notable Books of 2023.
Verghese was a finalist for the 2024 Audie Award for Narration by the Author.




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