The Covenant of Water

So my performance with The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese should win me an award for “taking the longest time to read an interesting and compelling book”! Along with Cutting for Stone, his previous bestseller, this author was recommended to me by my physical therapist friend Sue. 

Fun fact: Sue actually found, not just a type-o, but a factual error, in this book, and contacted the author online about it! It had something to do with specific names of bones in the leg. Nerds of a feather ;)

Anyway, whenever I read long books like this one and especially when it takes me f o r e v e r to read, my inner editor always emerges. I’m probably being too judgmental because this book is beloved, but for me the transitions between people and time periods felt awkward.

I loved that I learned a bit about India reading this book—its history and British colonization. I also loved being immersed in the feelings and perspectives of the iconic main characters, especially Bug Mama. Finally, I loved dragging this book with me through the last months of my teaching career. It was like a warm embrace returning each night to this story after grueling days at work. 

This is how long it took me to finish this epic novel. In the end, I just bought a digital copy so I could finish reading it in peace without CLAMS harassing me.