Book Review: The Covenant of Water

The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

"What defines a family isn't blood but the secrets they share." ~Abraham Verghese

After a long time, I read such a tome of a book that is more than 700 pages long. But I'm glad I did because it was worth it.

This novel is about three generations of a family residing at Parambil, Kerala. The story starts with a twelve-year-old child bride about to marry against her will a forty-year-old widower with a child. I was apprehensive about what would happen to the bride in a forced marriage with a man much older than her. But what unfolds thereafter is a beautiful saga of love. The bride later grows up to be the matriarch of entire Parambil, known to everyone as Big Ammachi. But the family is afflicted by a strange secret, named by the matriarch of the house as "The Condition." Most of the family members are averse to water and in Kerala, where water is everywhere, this aversion gets noticed by people. Many family members have died by drowning. Big Ammachi prays to God to cure the condition or to send someone who can heal it.

There's a parallel story about a boy named Digby Kilgour raised by a poor single mother at faraway Glasgow. The two parallel stories seem disparate at first, but at the end, everything falls into place.

There are a host of characters in the novel, both major and minor. All the characters are believable and some of them make the reader fall in love with them.

Many characters went through terrible loss yet they showed tremendous resilience.

Apart from "The Condition", another terrible secret kept by the family is revealed towards the end of the novel. In spite of the length of the novel, the story proceeds smoothly, keeping the suspense alive.

The author, Abraham Verghese, is a physician and it's very much evident in the novel. The medical jargons are little difficult to understand for non-medicos like me. Apart from this little inconvenience, it's a superb read.

Water has been used both literally and metaphorically by the author. Water that is indifferent to the sufferings of human, yet it links all of them.

A 5-star-rating from my side and strongly recommended for everyone with a love for literary fiction.

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Image Source: Image AI generated

The Difference Between the Innocent and the Culprit

 

Present day

Shamima sighed in exasperation upon sighting her husband. He was recumbent on the woven cot in the living room, his hands draped over his forehead, his eyes trained on the ceiling. 

To read the full story, click here.

This story has been chosen as a winning entry of "The Spirit of Asia Contest #185" (theme: The Culprit) and subsequently published at the website of the Asian Literary Society. It is based on the true incident of Nanded Arms Haul case of Maharashtra that took place way back in 2006.

Wake Up and Spill Your Coffee

Sonia was reminiscing about her first encounter with Siddharth. Both of them were working in the same company. On that day, Siddharth was stealing glances at her while holding a cup in front of the espresso machine. The steaming coffee overflowed. Instinctively, he jerked his hand back, causing the coffee to spill over his white shirt. Sonia rushed to him and wiped the coffee stains with a napkin.

"Here's your espresso!", Siddharth put the coffee cup in front of her, breaking her reverie.

Smiling, she thanked the Universe for making Sid spill his coffee - and his secret love - that day.

Image source: Image downloaded from the Facebook page of "Lets Make Stories Dino" and edited by AI.

A Diya in the Dark

A diya in the dark

Dispels the darkness,

Not just of the night-

But also of the mind.

A mind where ignorance resides,

A mind that dwells in darkness,

A diya becomes a beacon-

Of knowledge, of hope.

A diya lights up

That liminal space

Between the past and the present, 

Reminding us our existence is transient.

A diya in the dark

Guides our ancestors back to earth,

On the night before the Mother Goddess

Is worshipped in fervent mirth.

A diya in the dark

Reminds us to walk the path righteous,

Its flickering flame

Ephemeral beneath the sky cavernous.

Image source: Image downloaded from "Storyscrapers", edited by AI.

(Note: This poem has been chosen as a winning entry in the Diwali Special RhymeShots contest, hosted by "Storyscrapers", in October 2025.)

Love, 2100

Rina opened the door to her apartment clutching the bag of groceries. Though it was 2100 AD and drones delivered everything at home, she enjoyed her stroll along the quiet streets. 

"Riya, where are you?", she asked.

"I'm talking to Orien, Granny", came the reply.

Girls of this generation! They always preferred AI to men.

Suddenly, there was a loud knock on the door. Amit burst in. 

"Where is Riya? She can't break-up with me this way.", he screamed.

Riya appeared. "You are toxic. I don't owe you anything."

Suddenly Orien's metallic hands grabbed Amit's collar and flung him outside.

Image source: Image AI generated