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Abraham Verghese
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The Covenant of Water Audio CD – Unabridged, May 2 2023

by Abraham Verghese (Author, Reader)
4.6 out of 5 stars 89,363 ratings
4.4 on Goodreads
276,832 ratings

鶹

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From the New York Times bestselling author of Cutting for Stone comes a stunning and magisterial epic of love, faith, and medicine in South India, following three generations of a family seeking the answers to a strange secret.

Spanning the years 1900 to 1977, The Covenant of Water is set in Kerala, on India's Malabar Coast and follows three generations of a family that suffers a peculiar affliction in every generation, at least one person dies by drowning--and in Kerala, water is everywhere.

At the turn of the century, a twelve-year-old girl from Kerala's Christian community, grieving the death of her father, is sent by boat to her wedding, where she will meet her forty-year-old husband for the first time. From this unforgettable new beginning, the young girl--and future matriarch, Big Ammachi--will witness unthinkable changes over the span of her extraordinary life, full of joy and triumph as well as hardship and loss, her faith and love the only constants.

A shimmering evocation of a bygone India and of the passage of time itself, The Covenant of Water is a hymn to progress in medicine and to human understanding--and a humbling testament to the hardships undergone by past generations for the sake of those alive today. Imbued with humor, deep emotion, and the essence of life, it is one of the most masterful literary novels published in recent years.

The Covenant of Water is the long-awaited novel by Abraham Verghese, the author of Cutting for Stone, which has sold over 1.5 million copies in the United States alone and remained on the New York Times bestseller list for over two years.

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  1. Print length
    1 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Recorded Books, Inc.
  4. Publication date
    May 2 2023
  5. Dimensions
    17.15 x 17.46 x 2.54 cm
  6. ISBN-13
    979-8212530361
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Product description

Review

"Abraham Verghese is a rarity among authors--a gifted writer who is also a dramatic narrator. Once you listen to his nuanced, emotionally charged performance, you'll be convinced that no one else could have better captured the dialects, tones, and cadences of his mostly Indian characters. He also portrays a Scot and an American, among others, and adroitly changes his pitch for male or female characters...A long and immersive listen, this audiobook is a tour de force. Winner of the AudioFile Earphones Award."

-- "AudioFile"

"An epic melodrama of medicine...The miraculous melds naturally with medicine."

-- "Wall Street Journal"

"Filled with shimmery, charismatic people who love deeply and dream big."

-- "鶹.com"

"For more than seventy years, Big Ammachi survives tragedy and triumph, growing from a twelve-year-old bride into the matriarch, as her country also comes into its own."

-- "People"

"One of the best books I've read in my entire life. It's epic. It's transportive...It was unputdownable!"

-- "Oprah Winfrey"

"These lives, so finely drawn and intensely felt, are at once singular and inextricably bound together within the immensity of fate and faith--like 'the water that connects them all.'"

-- "Minneapolis Star Tribune"

About the Author

Abraham Verghese is also the author of The Tennis Partner, a New York Times Notable Book, and My Own Country, a National Book Critics Circle finalist. Currently a professor of internal medicine at Stanford University, he has also served on faculties in Iowa, Texas, and Tennessee. A graduate of the Iowa Writers' Workshop, his fiction and essays have appeared in The New Yorker, The New York Times, The Atlantic Monthly, and Granta. He lives in Palo Alto, California.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0DWZNSZ26
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Recorded Books, Inc.
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ May 2 2023
  • Edition ‏ : ‎ Unabridged
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 1 pages
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 979-8212530361
  • Item weight ‏ : ‎ 454 g
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 17.15 x 17.46 x 2.54 cm
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 out of 5 stars 89,363 ratings

About the author

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Abraham Verghese

Abraham Verghese

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ABRAHAM VERGHESE is the Linda R. Meier and Joan F. Lane Provostial Professor and Vice Chair of Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine. He sees patients, teaches students, and writes.

From 1990 to 1991, Abraham Verghese attended the Iowa Writers' Workshop at The University of Iowa, where he obtained a Master of Fine Arts degree.

His first book, MY OWN COUNTRY, about AIDS in rural Tennessee, was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award for 1994 and was made into a movie directed by Mira Nair and starring Naveen Andrews, Marisa Tomei, Glenne Headley and others.

His second book, THE TENNIS PARTNER, was a New York Times notable book and a national bestseller.

His third book, CUTTING FOR STONE was an epic love story, medical story and family saga. It appeared in hardback in 2009, and is in its 9th printing and is being translated into 16 languages. It is a Vintage paperback and was on the New York Times bestseller list for over 110 weeks at this writing.

His latest novel, THE COVENANT OF WATER, is forthcoming from Grove Press (May 2, 2023).

Verghese has honorary degrees from five universities and has published extensively in the medical literature, and his writing has appeared in The New Yorker, Sports Illustrated, The Atlantic Monthly, Esquire, Granta, The New York Times Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, and elsewhere. He is an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine and the American Academy of Arts & Sciences. He was awarded the National Humanities Medal by President Obama in 2016.

His writing, both non-fiction and fiction, has to do with his view of medicine as a passionate and romantic pursuit; he sees the bedside skill and ritual of examining the patient as critical, cost saving, time-honored and necessary, though it is threatened in this technological age. He coined the term the 'iPatient' to describe the phenomenon of the virtual patient in the computer becoming the object of attention to the detriment of the real patient in the bed. His is an important voice for humanism in medicine and for anticipating the unwanted consequences of new technologies before they are introduced.

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
89,363 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the book interesting, well-written, and enjoyable. They describe the content as incredible, captivating, and breathtaking. Readers describe the story as heartbreaking, heartrenching, and pulling them along its stream of words. They also appreciate the well-developed characters and settings. However, some find the book too long, with too many minor characters to keep track of, and a large number of pages.

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ReadabilityContentEngagingCharacter developmentStoryLength
78 customers mention "Readability"78 positive0 negative

Customers find the book interesting, well-written, and enjoyable. They say the author takes the reader on a journey and engages them in the story of human endeavour and passion. Readers also say it's an epic novel of generations and one of the most heartbreakingly beautiful books they have ever read.

"This was a great read. You got attached to the characters, learnt about leprosy and other medical condition while enjoying this wonderful story...." Read more

"Great book love this author" Read more

"Great read hopefully you have a few months 👍 3 generations learned a great deal on the India culture..." Read more

"Good read" Read more

27 customers mention "Content"27 positive0 negative

Customers find the content wonderful, beautiful, and captivating. They say it's great from the start to the finish, heartbreaking, and masterfully written. Readers also mention the book is evocative, insightful, and educational.

"Wonderful, engaging story that kept me totally interested. I have recommended it to all my book loving friends." Read more

"The most beautiful book I’ve ever read" Read more

"...The story is about pioneers of India and following a family through 3 generation and seeing India grow from rural British run colony to independent..." Read more

"...place I had no previous knowledge of, all while teaching me about the history of India, their caste systems, their religions, and their societal..." Read more

15 customers mention "Engaging"15 positive0 negative

Customers find the book engaging, heartrenching, and satisfying. They say it pulls them along its stream of words and engages them in the intimacy of each character's psyche. Readers also say the story is poetic and brings back so many memories.

"...But so far I have enjoyed what I have read. It is interesting, entertaining and gives a person a view into the lives of people from many years ago." Read more

"...descriptive and engaging." Read more

"...places, scents, colours, movements, and especially subtle human emotions beautifully described...." Read more

"One of the most heartbreakingly beautiful books I have ever read. It captivated me, took me to a cultural place I had no previous knowledge of, all..." Read more

8 customers mention "Character development"8 positive0 negative

Customers find the characters well-developed.

"The writing is exquisite, the characters are compelling, the story carried me away into another world where I laughed and cried and learned...." Read more

"...The characters are so real and the time in history do fascinating...." Read more

"...Compelling story rich with well developed characters and settings. Serious content with no humour or traditional romance. Worth reading!" Read more

"The character development was very good and I liked the flow of the book. I found it difficult at times to remember all the characters...." Read more

7 customers mention "Story"7 positive0 negative

Customers find the story dramatic, captivating, and sad. They say it goes through the stories of four people and how they intertwine over the years.

"...The family story so captivating, although rare on the real world...." Read more

"The novel is a saga of a large family in rural India set over three generations in the 10th century...." Read more

"This is without doubt the best, most dramatic story of human endeavour and passion I have ever read...." Read more

"Wonderfully written tale of interwoven lives, both tragic and triumphant in all its very human characters...." Read more

7 customers mention "Length"0 positive7 negative

Customers find the book very long, with too many minor characters to keep track of. They also say it has a large number of pages, making it take a while to read.

"Long book, but immensely interesting and readable" Read more

"This is a really good book but is a long read. Was great for summer though...." Read more

"...It reads well and is touching. It is however a bit too long and there are too many medical details that are not necessary for the story to be told." Read more

"This is a wonderful book. We thoroughly enjoyed it. It is a large number of pages so does take a while to read." Read more

The perfect summer read!
4 out of 5 stars
The perfect summer read!
It's understandable why Oprah rated this book as one of her favourites of all time- it's a magisterial epic of love and faith. I would recommend that you listen to Oprah's 6 part series podcast about the Covenant of Water.
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Top reviews from Canada

  • gm
    5.0 out of 5 stars Great read
    Reviewed in Canada on April 28, 2025
    Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase
    Excellent book. Details are just amazing-- ypu can visually see the characters come to life and see the story flowing.
    descriptive and engaging.
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  • Cranium Dendrits
    5.0 out of 5 stars Very long read!
    Reviewed in Canada on October 2, 2024
    Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase
    As usual, A. Verghese writes in lots of detail especially about the medical content in the novel. The story is about pioneers of India and following a family through 3 generation and seeing India grow from rural British run colony to independent nation. Verghese has intertwined the lives and connections of the generations that influence each other. Each person give back to the community in their own way. It is a detail but intriguing long read. Many parts are very easy to read but other parts harder because of the medical technology. Very interesting story and very well written.
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  • Susan
    4.0 out of 5 stars The covenant of water
    Reviewed in Canada on October 29, 2024
    Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase
    Read for my book club. Flowed nicely and not too many characters.
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  • Julie A.
    5.0 out of 5 stars Long read
    Reviewed in Canada on February 19, 2025
    Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase
    This is a really good book but is a long read. Was great for summer though. Really enjoyed the story and is on my list of "must read" recommendation to friends.
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  • CJ
    5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely compelling
    Reviewed in Canada on June 10, 2024
    Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase
    The culture of India is painted clearly. The medical issues interesting in that many treatments have changed. The family story so captivating, although rare on the real world.The descriptions of places, scents, colours, movements, and especially subtle human emotions beautifully described. The only thing I found difficult was the use of Indian words without more explanation of what they meant. I read via Kindle format and some were accessible but many not. Context helped, but short either description or translation would have been useful.
    One person found this helpful
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  • mizizz
    5.0 out of 5 stars Words fail me.
    Reviewed in Canada on January 30, 2024
    Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase
    One of the most heartbreakingly beautiful books I have ever read. It captivated me, took me to a cultural place I had no previous knowledge of, all while teaching me about the history of India, their caste systems, their religions, and their societal norms. I learned to see art in a different light, not just that of Elsie’s creations, but that of a surgeon’s, a writer and those who so artfully kept their families together. I loved the knowledge shared about anatomy, diseases, conditions, and especially about leprosy and the effects on the body and soul of those afflicted with it. Truly amazing. Read it. It will change you.
    One person found this helpful
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  • James F.
    5.0 out of 5 stars An amazing story
    Reviewed in Canada on May 8, 2024
    Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase
    The author takes the reader on a journey, and while doing so engages the reader in the intimacy of each character’s psyche and thoughts. The storyline is completely unpredictable, thus the reader’s imagination is constantly reengaged  by the most minute of observations. There is no time for the mind to wander while reading Verghese. A brilliant work, yet also very informative, demonstrated  the author’s meticulous research of the science and also his acknowledgement of the countless sources he uses to develop the novel. Truly amazing writing.
    One person found this helpful
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  • 鶹 Customer
    4.0 out of 5 stars Important book
    Reviewed in Canada on July 9, 2024
    Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase
    This is a long read and could be challenging for some. I enjoyed it as it shed light on social issues I never considered.
    One person found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

  • Margaret Norah
    5.0 out of 5 stars Compelling reading
    Reviewed in France on July 1, 2025
    Verified Purchase
    Very good book, set in India. Bought it for my husband's birthday. He has just finished all 758 pages and found it compelling reading.
    Report
  • O. Klepper
    4.0 out of 5 stars Positive and entertaining story
    Reviewed in the Netherlands on May 6, 2025
    Verified Purchase
    Nice story. As usual with Verghese, there are lots of extensive surgical descriptions which don't really serve the narrative. At some points the story gets a bit sugary, but on the whole a beautiful book.
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  • Varghese Vayalamannil Devasia
    5.0 out of 5 stars A splendid and astute social analysis
    Reviewed in India on January 28, 2025
    Verified Purchase
    The Covenant of Water.
    Book Review:
    Reading Abraham Verghese's novel The Covenant of Water, the million-copy bestseller included in Oprah’s Book Club 2023 and published by Grove Press in the UK, has been an astounding experience for me for the last twelve days. The author took twelve years to write his magnum opus. The book explores the themes of love, compassion, empathy, human relationships, and commitment to a cause encircled by superstitions, fear, ignorance, slavery, detachment, spirituality, suffering, secrecy, and profound silence.
    While reading, the novel transported me to an unknown and known world: Kerala, which flows like the totality of all its thirty-six rivers, the serene plentiful lagoons, numerous backwaters and thousands of ponds adjacent to old houses, carrying its diverse smells, sounds, tastes, sights, touch, history, the struggle for equality, freedom, women’s liberation, literacy advancement, the health revolution, communist movement, Christianity’s involvement in education and social upliftment, the majesty of the temples, the culture, arts, and enlightenment through science and atheism. The novel is enriched with everlasting greenery, Malayali splendour, the humanness of the public, and equity visible everywhere.
    The book weaves the story of three generations of a family, the St Thomas Christians, from 1900 to 1977, in Travancore, Kerala. It starts with a twelve-year-old girl going to wed a forty-year-old widower whom she would meet for the first time in church during the wedding. The girl’s father, a priest, died years before, and her mother struggled to provide a life for her loving daughter. The groom was rich, having five hundred acres of land as the solace. The girl travelled alone with the broker to an unknown place by boat. The groom walked out of the church, seeing his would-be wife as she was still a child, slightly older than his motherless son. The priest, the wedding celebrant, had a hard time convincing the groom to accept the girl as his wife by tying the tiny thali around her neck, as St Thomas Christians continued to follow the traditions of the Brahmins.
    In her affectionate yet introverted, kind and wise husband's home, the twelve-year-old girl transformed into a compassionate, caring, lively, and wise matriarch whom others called Big Ammachi. She witnessed and brought far-reaching changes around her throughout her astonishing life span, which was compressed with happiness, hardships, deaths, pain, and sublimation.
    It is an absorbing, engrossing, spectacular novel full of humane touch, soft feelings and empathy. The starting is one of the best:
    “She was twelve years old, and she will be married in the morning. Mother and daughter lie on the mat, their wet cheeks glued together.”
    “The saddest day of a girl’s life is the day of her wedding,” her mother says. “After that, God willing, it gets better.”
    The universal truth stuns the reader and leads them to read further without interruption until the last page of this 715-page saga, witnessing the gradual transformation of the characters, the evolution of the story and the metamorphosis of the enriching philosophy beneath the theme.
    The characterisation of the main characters, Big Ammachi and her husband, their manager Shamuel, their son and daughter JoJo, Baby Mol, and Philipose, their son Ninan, Shamuel’s son Joppan, Rune, Digby, and Mariamma, is well developed, consistent, contrasting, and profound in terms of the themes of the novel. It vibrates with spontaneity and inner strength.
    More than anything, the novel is a perceptive and rigorous analysis of the complexities of the social system. A significant narrative is a struggle to interpret social customs, traditions, faith, religion, political affiliation, and a categorical value system, such as treating the Dalits as untouchables, in fact, slaves. “Because you loved my father, this is harder for you to grasp…You see yourself as being kind and generous to him. The “kind” slave owners in India, or anywhere, were always the ones who had the greatest difficulty seeing the injustice of slavery. Their kindness, their generosity, compared to cruel slave owners, made them blend to the unfairness of a system of slavery that they created, they maintained, and that favoured them.”
    The language is simple yet powerful, appropriate but timely, situational, elegant, and mesmerising, such as: “Below him, the tea bushes run in neat, parallel rows as though a giant comb has been dragged across the hillside.”
    Some of the ethereal and magical scenes in verisimilitude contexts suggest the serendipity and meaninglessness of life and, at the same time, its profound purpose, even the merging of contradictions. The deaths of JoJo and Ninan bring such a notion. Mariamma meeting her biological father and juxtaposing her palms against her mother, who she thought dead, is the most poignant scene in the story.
    The Covenant of Water is one of the greatest novels I have ever read. I cherished reading each word and each sentence on every page of this magnificent work. The joy I derived from it is unparalleled. It is a stupendous tribute to Kerala, its people and culture, language and courage, openness, vitality and diversity, soul-satiating greenery, gorgeousness, stillness, and enlightened living, respecting the right of the other person to cherish their rights.
    As a literary landmark, an epic tribute to the living and dead in God’s Own Country, The Covenant of Water shines like a bright star on the syzygy of English literature. I compare The Covenant of Watter with One Hundred Years of Solitude, Things Fall Apart, Brothers Karamazov, For Whom The Bell Tolls, The Remains of the Day and Valli, Sheela Tomy’s Malayalam novel, beautifully and elegantly translated into English by Jayasree Kalathil.
    Dr Abraham Verghese is the Vice Chair of the Department of Medicine at Standford University School of Medicine and the New York Times-bestselling author of Cutting for Stone, which has sold more than one and a half million copies.

    Varghese V Devasia
    Kozhikode
    27 January 2025.
    Report
  • Lee W
    5.0 out of 5 stars ENTHRALLING
    Reviewed in Australia on April 30, 2024
    Verified Purchase
    Stunning book. The writing is superb, very descriptive but the descriptions never trite or tedious but evocative and beautiful. The story and the characters and so well fleshed out I felt as tho I was living with them. Twists and turns throughout the story and each character came alive. The author has written a wonderful book, unputdownable in fact. The only reason I gave it 5 stars is because there was no option for 10. Thank you for a truly superlative read.
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  • Tessa M
    5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful writing
    Reviewed in Germany on May 23, 2025
    Verified Purchase
    The writing is just beautiful. The story is captivating but very sad... I cried several times while reading this book. But finishing it has left me yearning to start reading it again.
    Report