By Ava Shaffer
The Covenant of Water is a prime example of masterful storytelling– its moving prose and intricate plot spans generations, continents, and countless depictions of love. Set on South India’s Malabar Coast, The Covenant of Water chronicles three generations of a family struggling with a medical secret. With themes of medicine, perseverance, community, and many other human truths, this book is a triumph.
“Fiction is the great lie that tells the truth about how the world lives!”
This book was phenomenal, thank you to my grandma for recommending it to me and lending me her copy! The Covenant of Water was devastating and tragic and uplifting and joyful all at once. The non-chronological timeline was executed perfectly, creating a story made up of so many people, moments, and places.
Not only is the geography of this book vast and expansive, but so are the people who populate the pages. Every character was crafted with so much intention and love, each one fleshed out and complex. The characters were the heart of this story and it was a treat to get to know new personalities in every generation.
“But such memories are woven from gossamer threads; time eats holes in the fabric, and these she must darn with myth and fable.”
The Covenant of Water is written with such gorgeous prose and poetic lines that I teared up on multiple occasions. I loved the motifs of hands and water, and the beautiful words that flowed through this story like a current.
“Child, the past is past, and furthermore it’s different every time I remember it.”
Other incredible quotes that I would be remiss to not mention:
“Roses would be annoying weeds if the blooms never withered and died. Beauty resides in the knowledge that it doesn’t last.”
“Secrecy lives in the same rooms as loneliness.”
“The minutes we spend watching the waves don’t count against our life spans.”
“We are merely renting these bodies of ours. You came into this world on an in breath. You will exit on an out breath.”
“They are perfectly matched, he thinks, both of them weathered by grief and time. And what is time but cumulative loss?”
i love this review! i was also given this book by a family member but i haven’t read it yet because it’s so long. this review makes me want to dive into it!!