THE COVENANT OF WATER BY DR. ABRAHAM VERGHESE

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BOOK NAME: THE COVENANT OF WATER

AUTHOR NAME: DR. ABRAHAM VERGHESE

GENRE: HISTORICAL FICTION - FAMILY SAGA

PUBLISHER: ATLANTIC BOOKS

BOOK BUY LINK: https://www.amazon.in/Covenant-Water-Oprahs-Book-Selection/dp/1804710431


BOOK COVER IMAGE




BOOK REVIEW


When I tell you that a book has finally managed to reach the levels of 'A Little Life' and 'Valli' in their respective genres for me, you must know that I am going to rant about it forever and keep recommending it over and over again to everyone I know. 


This multi-generational saga, spanning three generations from Big Ammachi to her namesake - her granddaughter in Parambil, Kerala, is a breathtaking piece of literature. It is a coming-of-age story of a 12-year-old moving to her marital house in Parambil to her 40-year-old husband, who later becomes 'Big Ammachi' - the matriarch of Parambil. Ever since Big Ammachi got married, she wondered why one person from every generation in her family had to die mysteriously of drowning. Big Ammachi, who had buried her dreams and aspirations under her bed to take care of her household owing to her circumstances, insists to her granddaughter that she must resolve to find a cure to their generational curse - "the water tree". It is now left for her namesake to find out in the end - a quest that will elegantly weave Kerala, Madras and Glasgow together across generations from 1900 to 1977. 


If you have known me well enough, you would know about my never-ending search for a positive representation of the medical fraternity in books. By positive representation, I don't mean a hot neurosurgeon who could make girls drool with his scrubs or a doctor who barely appears in more than three pages. I always hoped for more books on the unfiltered lives of doctors, for it's far away from any sophistication anyone could ever imagine. This book left me to marvel at the depths in which the lives of a doctor/surgeon have been described. I couldn't help but relate myself in many places. I will also warn you that the author has dug deeper into the world of medicine and surgical art, which felt amazing to me and may sound like unwanted information to others. Some of its details may feel unnecessary for someone who isn't interested in or averted to the field of medicine. But, for me, they were phenomenal.


Even with over 10 parts, 84 chapters and 720 pages, this book was never long enough for me. I did not want it to end. This book is heavy not just in words and length but also with its stellar characters, powerful themes, and overwhelming emotions. No amount of warning could have prevented me from suffering the heartbreak that awaited at the end. I am not sure if other readers picked it up, but I could never spot the subtle hints. That's how beautifully the tale is spun. The clues were always there, but no one saw it coming.


So, tell me. Can someone ever long for a place they have never even visited or heard of before? If you think it's impossible, then you are wrong. Because when I finished this book, I ached for Parambil - a land I had never even stepped on. Parambil now feels like my long-lost home that I never knew existed before. That's the magic this book holds.


Still not convinced? Then let me tell you, this book ripped my heart apart, turned me hopeful, made me fall in love with its prose and Parambil, and root for Big Ammachi and her granddaughter all along - all in just 700 pages. This is one book that I want to keep forgetting every once in a while, only for me to reread it every time. Also, this is probably the first book where the women written by a man were fiercely ambitious and effortlessly inspiring. 


MY REVIEW: 5/5 rating deserves this book!

This is a part of Blogchatter’s #TBRchallenge

#penbooksandscalpel

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