The Covenant of Water: An Oprah’s Book Club Selection Paperback – January 1, 2024

I purchased this book on a whim based on the storyline which sounded interesting and Oprah’s book club recommendation. Without doubt this is one of the top 5 books I have ever read! The characters and their intricately interwoven storylines feel like family, the delicious details engage you without effort, and the deeply spiritual messages bring forth moments of reflection that will remain with you long after each page has been digested. A truly incredible book!

This was such a lovely story full of culture, heartbreak, sacrifice, and so much more. It is packed with history, the simple life beginning as a 12 year-old child and how her life evolves as well as her families. I truly enjoyed every moment of this book..

Oprah describes this book as “One of the best books I’ve read in my entire life. It’s epic. It’s transportive….It was unputdownable” We bought this book based upon Oprah’s comments, but my wife got though about 15 pages before she did not agree that it was “unputdownable” and stopped reading it. I I decided since we bought the book, I would pursue it to its end. All of us has a favorite class of books, be it real history, fictional history, pure fiction, romance, war, science fiction (mine) and many others. A real good book fits our favorite class like a good pair of slippers. This book takes us on a journey in India from 1900 to 1977, basically following multiple families and how they interact, their successes and failures. I am not sure I would agree with Orpah that the book is “unputdownable” or that is it the best book I have ever read, but the story moves along well and I would confess that given the 77 years of the story, I continued to be interested in how it would end. This book combines fiction, with a little real history about India, and lots of romance as the multiple families interact, marry, have children and live their lives. You can decide whether Orpah’s comments and making this one of her book club’s books is something that would put this on your list of books to read, that it fits the class of books you enjoy.

This is an absolute lyrical masterpiece of storytelling. It is long and worth the time. I listened to the author read it and was captivated from the start through all 30+ hours. The section about the preacher from Texas and Uplift Master's translations was hysterically funny and prescient at the same time. The time invested in this amazing saga has enriched my life immeasurably. And I cried at the poignant ending. In a sense it's really a book about mothers.

I was engaged from page one to the ending, leaving me wanting more. Family is more than blood…it is who makes you feel loved.

One of my favorite book ever. Just brilliant ! Can't wait to read more of this author. I also read cutting for stone and I loved it too

After what seemed liked a slow start, I became engrossed with the story. I knew there were a lot of threads that needed to be tied up. I was not disappointed.

A friend (not Oprah!) recommended the book to me. Overall, I was captivated by the writing style and the flow. At 700+ pages, you know it's a long book, so I don't understand the people who reviewed it saying "it was too long". When you cover 77 years of time, you except something of length and depth.Detail is important as the stories do intertwine. Verghese does a good job of incorporating medical, cultural, religious and political points and etail into the book. The use of some Indian phrases that repeat and become a reference point is easy enough to navigate and helped me hold on to details chapters down the road.For me, it was a fast-ish read. Usually 100 pages per sitting. I did put the book down for a day or so at the end of chapter 46. In the first 46, there is marriage, disease, death, famine, etc, but it was a simple enough sounding request that automatically gave me pause. Whether the author framed it that way for a reader reaction, or it was just my own, it felt heavy. Inadvertently, it would become heavy.IF I have a criticism of the book it is closer to the end. Digby, a character, condenses part of the book into a a page or two, trying to tie up things and literally helping the reader along by helping them remember plot points like it is some Cliff Notes version. Maybe I retain things better, but it annoyed me. The other being that there is a possibility that a father MIGHT have been going to Madras to find someone he thought long dead. Even for all else that has gone on, THAT supposition would be a huge stretch - and highly accurate for a lot of unknowns to the character.Still, I liked the book. I liked the author and his style. I don't care if Oprah liked it or not. I'd rather not have her name on the cover, but what are you gonna do?