“The Covenant of Water”

Oh, how I loved this book and didn’t want it to end.  Set in South India’s Malabar Coast and spanning three generations, The Covenant of Water’s foundational theme is the fear of water as each generation suffers a loss (or losses) by drowning.  It’s a long tale and begins with an arranged marriage in 1900 and ends in the 1970’s when women enjoy many more opportunities to pursue careers and relationships of their choosing.  Abraham Verghese who wrote the best-seller Cutting for Stone is a renowned  doctor and tenured faculty member at Stanford, and received the National Humanities Medal in 2016.  The sensitivity Verghese has for patients is equally present for his readers - I can’t wait to read his past and future books.