Historical · Literary
The Covenant of Water
Beginning in 1900, a girl in Kerala is married to an older widower and moves into his family estate. Over generations, her descendants are marked by a strange condition in which a family member in each generation drowns.
Facts last checked 2026-10-16
- First published
- 2023
- Pace
- Slow
- Length
- Long
- Pages
- 627
- Format
- Standalone
Read this if you want an immersive, unhurried multigenerational novel set among doctors, boats and rivers.
Skip this if you want pace and brevity; it is over seven hundred pages and takes its time.
The feel
Content warnings
Also reported by Hardcover readers:
Quick answers about The Covenant of Water
- What is The Covenant of Water about?
- Beginning in 1900, a girl in Kerala is married to an older widower and moves into his family estate. Over generations, her descendants are marked by a strange condition in which a family member in each generation drowns.
- Who should read The Covenant of Water?
- Read it if you want an immersive, unhurried multigenerational novel set among doctors, boats and rivers. Skip it if you want pace and brevity; it is over seven hundred pages and takes its time.
- How long and how fast is The Covenant of Water?
- It is a slow-paced, long read of about 627 pages, first published in 2023.
- Does The Covenant of Water have content warnings?
- Content we flag: Death, Grief.
- Can I borrow The Covenant of Water for free?
- Often, yes. Check Libby (OverDrive) to see whether your library lends The Covenant of Water; the borrow button above searches it for you.
- What should I read after The Covenant of Water?
- Readers who liked it often move on to Cutting for Stone, A Thousand Splendid Suns, The God of Small Things.
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Where to get it
| Store | Price | Link |
|---|---|---|
| Borrow free | ||
| Libby / OverDrive | Free with a library card | Borrow free with Libby from Libby / OverDrive |
| Print, new | ||
| Amazon | Check price | Buy new from Amazon |
| Ebook | ||
| Kobo | Check price | Buy ebook from Kobo |
| Google Play Books | Check price | Buy ebook from Google Play Books |
| Audiobook | ||
| Audible | Check price | Buy audiobook from Audible |
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Because you might love it
If you loved The Covenant of Water
-
Cutting for Stone The author's earlier novel, with the same love of medicine, family secrets and long arcs of time.
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A Thousand Splendid Suns Another story of women's resilience across decades, tighter and more tragic.
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The God of Small Things Also set in Kerala, but a compressed, poetic tragedy compared with this book's slow river of events.
Historical
