The Christian Science Monitor

In a land ‘shaped by water,’ a family tale of persistence

“The Covenant of Water the latest novel from bestselling author Abraham Verghese, delivers a magnificent saga. Bursting with myriad characters, well-braided plotlines, politics, history, faith, and geography, the story centers on a young Christian girl in water-rich Kerala, India, who is married into the landowning Parambil clan. Unknown to her, the Parambil men appear to suffer from a curse – death by drowning. As the girl matures and builds a family with her much older husband, the many challenges of life in 1900s colonial India buffet the household. It’s

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