The Covenant of Water

Abraham Verghese’s sweeping novel spans the years 1900 to 1977 in Kerala, South India, following three generations of a family afflicted by a strange curse: in every generation, someone drowns. Centered on a resilient matriarch known as Big Ammachi, the book weaves medicine, faith, caste, and love across a changing century. Rich and immersive, it is a grand, tender saga from the author of Cutting for Stone.