the covenant to water

Oh Lord this Novel. Firstly, I listened to this, as the mere size of The Covenant of Water alone is intimidating… it’s 31 hours long. 31.. hours… long. I’m not commitment phobic, but I know myself well enough to know that reading a book this big would take four score and 7 years to finish. The author of the book, Abraham Verghese, narrates it and at first I was like “oh hell, I hate when the author narrates,” but honestly, he does an excellent job at it. My good friend, Nimisha, recommended the book to me as it was the book she loved the most last year. A couple things… the author is a practicing medical doctor… and it took him 14 years to write this. I find both of these facts both inspiring and annoying in a “simmer down with your overachieving self, Mr. Verghese.” I struggle to write a review of this book, as it’s a whole ass journey. It took over my life for a solid two weeks and when I was done, I didn’t know what to do with myself. The book spans roughly 75 years, set mostly in India, it’s rich with details and descriptions with beautiful portraits painted of every character. You will be transported to a different time and place, not wanting to return to reality even to pee. It’s such a gorgeous book, really, truly. I’ve recommended this to everyone in my reading life, a novice would never.