The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese

Well, Tuesday marked the end of the 22-23 school year and the wrap on New Title Tuesday.  17 new books in 18 weeks for the WHHS Library!  Of course, this one won't be added to the collection until we return to school as I didn't start it until teachers were let out.  

This HEFTY work was recommended to me by a friend.  I mean it's BIG.  It's 770+ pages.  I read this sporadically over the past three days between my annual cleaning, as Ms. Marcella calls it "The Annual Cleaning Rampage".  

I have a mixed review.  The story begins in 1900 on the West Coast of India, in a Christian village called Parambil. A 12 year old is married off to a wealthy 40 year old widower, more to be a caretaker to his toddler son.  Eventually she grows to love her husband and they have two more children.  However, there is something of a curse on the family that each generation loses someone to drowning.  As time passes, new British settlers arrive, along with doctors and nurses.  The caste system is alive and well, even in the Christian areas, and the systemic classist differences in treatment are evident.  The story continues over 80ish years. 

Now, I absolutely LOVED the parts of the book set in Parambil.  Our young 12 year old main character grows from a timid child not much older than her stepson to a formidable matriarch grandmother who controls significant wealth for the area.  We see her come to terms with the ever present spirit of her husband's late wife.  We watch her playful interactions with the family elephant Damo.  We cry with her after a miscarriage.  We can almost taste how her curry and other recipes change with time and maturity. 

What I didn't like was the excruciating details on the backgrounds of the minor characters.  The reader is forced to read chapter upon chapter of unnecessary fluff about what brought some of the white men to this area including one doctor's mother's history in Glasgow. If all of the unneeded info was cut, this would be a MUCH shorter novel that would be easier to read.  I admit to skipping some of it. 

Well, there it is.  My next post will be after I finish The Cleaning Rampage and will tell you my Summer Reading theme for 2023.

All opinions expressed on this blog are solely those of Mrs. W.