The Covenant of Water

Recommended by Diana Eck, Professor of comparative religion and Indian studies, emerita; Fredric Wertham Professor of Law and Psychiatry in Society, emerita

I have a favorite list of books that I have “read” more than once, but I confess that I am a listener of audiobooks. More recently, I have been reading Abraham Verghese. He himself reads “The Covenant of Water” and hearing it narrated by a Malayalam speaker brings a whole culture to life. I am almost finished with my second reading. Why? It is the intense humanity of the story and the sheer beauty of his voice. Told entirely in the present but spanning generations. Heartwarming and heart-wrenching.