Flo’s review of The Covenant of Water > Likes and Comments
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I’m surprised to see this getting Booker buzz. It sounds dreadful.
Flo, I greatly appreciate your review. Saw that Oprah picked this book so the attention on it will increase.
David wrote: "I’m surprised to see this getting Booker buzz. It sounds dreadful."
Hopefully, wont happen.
Sharon wrote: "Flo, I greatly appreciate your review. Saw that Oprah picked this book so the attention on it will increase."
Oprah is the reason I picked up this book. She talked about it like it was a special pick, so I was intrigued, but it wasn't for me.
This is another Goldfinch to me. I slogged on with that one until the end, expecting some major enlightenment since the book was so hyped by everyone. Boring! Not going to continue with this one. I'm halfway through and I've had enough. A total disappoinment since I loved Cutting for Stone.
Donna wrote: "This is another Goldfinch to me. I slogged on with that one until the end, expecting some major enlightenment since the book was so hyped by everyone. Boring! Not going to continue with this one. I..."
Can't comment if the second half is better, but I am curious what will happen with this hype.
Donna wrote: "This is another Goldfinch to me. I slogged on with that one until the end, expecting some major enlightenment since the book was so hyped by everyone. Boring! Not going to continue with this one. I..."
Thank you for making up my mind, Donna and Flo! Donna--When you said it was another Goldfinch to you--I get it! I thought Goldfinch was pedestrian, trying too hard to be literary...but not literary, full of cliche after cliche, platitude after platitude. And then it won the Pulitzer. UGH! I slogged through about 60 pages of Goldfinch so never even wrote a DNF review. Anyway, I've been going back and forth on this, but you both helped make up my mind in a bigly way! And I am turned off by faith-based content.
I just started reading and not liking this book. After reading the reviews, it will be a DNF for me. I can’t deal with all the Indian phrases, even if some are explained.
Thank you! I became increasingly frustrated because my Kindle would not translate the Malayalam words. Still not sure if I want to read any more, but knowing I'm not just too stupid to figure out what it being said helps.
As a librarian, I would be the first one to say if a book is not working for you after X number of pages for you, then find one that does. However, in this case, if you just hang in there (I know for awhile) you will be so rewarded with this beautiful writing and a beautiful family story. If you are looking for some plot driven/mystery storyline, as I see that many people enjoy, then this one is probably not for you. Ultimately, all the characters and storylines are supremely intertwined at the end.
I think its misleading to say that this book is directed at a faith based audience. Faith is such a polarising concept and I would hate for someone to be put off reading this book based on that premise. I feel the author tries to capture the essential role that religion played in the lives of the people represented in this book. Also, in my opinion, the author does not condone underage marriage. It was a part of the culture of that era, and whether acceptable or not to modern society, they often proved to be happy marriages. I agree that some scenes can be overly medicalised, but i think the book is well worth it.
There will always be different perspectives. I still think that my criticism is valid based on more than 200 pages. Maybe some of the problems were fixable, but the writing wasn't good enough to make me push it even more.
Thank goodness it wasn't just me thinking this. I am bored to death with it.
The author isn’t trying to sell anyone on underage marriage. He’s simply recounting the practice that was prevalent in that day and age (in 1900). That’s what books do - tell stories of days past.
Sudha wrote: "The author isn’t trying to sell anyone on underage marriage. He’s simply recounting the practice that was prevalent in that day and age (in 1900). That’s what books do - tell stories of days past."
I don't buy this excuse. He should have not created an artificial situation of postponing the consumation of their marriage that makes the practice less horiffic than it was for the reader, if his intations were "simply recounting the practice".
Really? A doctor can not be a writer? Dr Verghese has written several wonderful books in addition to being a brilliant doctor.
Linda wrote: "Really? A doctor can not be a writer? Dr Verghese has written several wonderful books in addition to being a brilliant doctor."
No one said that. It is just a preference. The first paragraph of this review is about how the writing is not the problem.
Yes, it did get boring. I found myself nodding off but hoping with all the hype it was worth the effort to finish. And the ending was really not worth the time spent to get to it. More of a Maury Povich moment. Once again Oprah failed me.
I find it almost impossible to believe your review. How anyone could be bored with the exquisite writing and weaving that this man does on each and every page is completely beyond me. If you had read the novel to its end, you would see that it is in no way “A faith based book.” Two of the main characters declare quite clearly that there is no God. I think it’s amazing that this author can cover Christianity, Hinduism, and atheism all in one story with each view being honestly represented.
Cindy wrote: "I find it almost impossible to believe your review. How anyone could be bored with the exquisite writing and weaving that this man does on each and every page is completely beyond me. If you had re..."
Im happy that he solves some of the problems later on. Unfortunately, I'm not gonna know if the solutions land or not. For you the writing is exquisite, for me it was just ok. People like / read different kind of books, so I wont ever find surprising that there are different opinions outhere.
Carol wrote: "Yes, it did get boring. I found myself nodding off but hoping with all the hype it was worth the effort to finish. And the ending was really not worth the time spent to get to it. More of a Maury P..."oh, Oprah. She knows how to sell everything. :)) I'm not gonna believe the hype anymore.
I’ve been listening to it and I’ve been bored, even while I’m walking my dog. I think I’m gonna stop it.
Let's see--Abraham Verghese's book has been out just over a month & has 4,700 G/R reviews & an astounding 4.55 rating. Meanwhile. a few find it boring, especially someone who is listening to the book being read to but finding it difficult to absorb while walking her dog. No book is for every reader but some 1 & 2* G/R reviews are actually an incentive to read a book, rather than not to.
I am amazed that any reader could not finish this remarkable book. I literally cannot put down this book. And I find myself re-reading paragraphs just because the writing is so beautiful. I am so sorry that this book is only 710 pages.
Thank you Flo for your honest and fair review. What I love about GR is that we all have our own perspectives about the same book. Each of us will feel whatever we feel, and that is what is beautiful about the experience of reading and reviewing here. Thank you for sharing your perspective.
Wonderful book reads like poetry flowing in a stream.
I've been laid flat after hip replacement surgery, the perfect time to delve into a 700+ page novel. The Covenant of Water is beautifully written and kept me decent company for many days in horizontal position. But by page 420 (Philipose being a jerk), it lost its charm. I soldiered on to page 500, skimming a bit here and there. It's finally time to declare DNF!
I think the author cared more about telling these stories and bringing these characters to life than he did about writing a book that readers would love.
That's his choice. And I choose to do other things with my time.
I'm 70 pages in and wondering if I've missed something but your review has made me think maybe it's just not the book for me
I agree. I’m half way through and ready to throw in the towel. This is popular fiction with average prose and a lot of characters that have no depth. I’m sure the plot will come together eventually, but that is also lacking half way through.
I don’t think there should really be a comment on the number of pages. Do we do that with poems or paintings as well ? This is what the author made and you can judge the content but why the number of pages ? Of course you can not like it. Everyone is different but who still has patience to write such lengthy novels today ? We should not praise the author for it but it must be hard.
As for the content personally I stopped at around 30% but I picked it back up after a month and that was a revelation. The rest went very fast and the story became, for me, more interesting.
yes....it seems to have no point....and tedious beyond measure...I'm on page 465
He can write. You just don't like his style. And past cultural habits often DID succeed. Cutting for Stone is a truly top read- this one not so much. But he is a writer. Conveying India to other cultures, even in sections- faith and superstition and habits around them are essential to their mores. Your opinion is valid but your definition of writers? W. Somerset Mangham was a doctor and no one could hit fictional characters are he did for his particular era. Indian continent cognition is highly represented in this book. But it is really 3 or 4 books in one. Not a fan.
It almost lost me about half way through but I saw it through to a bit of a surprising end. It was a good story, but thought it could have been shortened and still been effective.
As an Indian who’s lived abroad, I was shocked to find out child marriage to elders is still very much a common practice 120 years after this book depicted the arrangement, amongst many communities in impoverished parts of India. The author doesn’t “sell this”, but instead just shows it in a matter of fact way - It was and still is the reality for many kids. Anyway, I’m just 12% done and also beginning to wonder if the remaining 650
Pages are worth it. Thanks for this review.
I’m struggling but hope to see it through. As soon as a character gets interesting, they die off. Frustrating.
Seems unfair to give it a rating when you didn’t finish it.
i agree, i'm struggling through it rn. prose is super flat and boring. it's so highly rated though 🥶
I appreciate DNF reviews like yours: it's meaningful to know why readers abandon books, especially after reading more than 200 pages. (I quit after this sentence, "The chaos and hurt in God's world are unfathomable mysteries, yet the Bible shows her that there is order" on page 5, and now I know I did the right thing for myself.)
No appreciation for readers who review books they haven't finished - in this case, you didn't even get halfway. How can you judge something you barely know?
how does the author use the recurring motif of water to reflect the family’s struggles and the passage of time?
As a malayalee Christian born and raised in the states, I don’t think it’s fair for you to say it’s a faith story. Faith IS central to the way I was raised, and definitely the way my parents and grandparents lived. Church attendance was not optional. At least one set of my grandparents were married with a large age gap, my grandmother married off to my grandfather bc her father had died and the family couldn’t take care of her. While we wouldn’t do that now, it was seen as more socially acceptable. The book was tough to get through for its immense detail, but not for lack of authenticity to the people it is representing.
Agree to disagree! I'm a doctor. And am atheist. And I loved this book. The writing is impeccable. I was totally absorbed by the 2 plot lines. I really disliked the book Saturday which I found contrived. The writing style in my opinion was not so good in Saturday.
Happy reading!
Agnostic here; I loved this book. I also love Ian McEwan books.
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David
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May 14, 2023 01:49AM
I’m surprised to see this getting Booker buzz. It sounds dreadful.
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Flo, I greatly appreciate your review. Saw that Oprah picked this book so the attention on it will increase.
David wrote: "I’m surprised to see this getting Booker buzz. It sounds dreadful."Hopefully, wont happen.
Sharon wrote: "Flo, I greatly appreciate your review. Saw that Oprah picked this book so the attention on it will increase."Oprah is the reason I picked up this book. She talked about it like it was a special pick, so I was intrigued, but it wasn't for me.
This is another Goldfinch to me. I slogged on with that one until the end, expecting some major enlightenment since the book was so hyped by everyone. Boring! Not going to continue with this one. I'm halfway through and I've had enough. A total disappoinment since I loved Cutting for Stone.
Donna wrote: "This is another Goldfinch to me. I slogged on with that one until the end, expecting some major enlightenment since the book was so hyped by everyone. Boring! Not going to continue with this one. I..."Can't comment if the second half is better, but I am curious what will happen with this hype.
Donna wrote: "This is another Goldfinch to me. I slogged on with that one until the end, expecting some major enlightenment since the book was so hyped by everyone. Boring! Not going to continue with this one. I..."Thank you for making up my mind, Donna and Flo! Donna--When you said it was another Goldfinch to you--I get it! I thought Goldfinch was pedestrian, trying too hard to be literary...but not literary, full of cliche after cliche, platitude after platitude. And then it won the Pulitzer. UGH! I slogged through about 60 pages of Goldfinch so never even wrote a DNF review. Anyway, I've been going back and forth on this, but you both helped make up my mind in a bigly way! And I am turned off by faith-based content.
I just started reading and not liking this book. After reading the reviews, it will be a DNF for me. I can’t deal with all the Indian phrases, even if some are explained.
Thank you! I became increasingly frustrated because my Kindle would not translate the Malayalam words. Still not sure if I want to read any more, but knowing I'm not just too stupid to figure out what it being said helps.
As a librarian, I would be the first one to say if a book is not working for you after X number of pages for you, then find one that does. However, in this case, if you just hang in there (I know for awhile) you will be so rewarded with this beautiful writing and a beautiful family story. If you are looking for some plot driven/mystery storyline, as I see that many people enjoy, then this one is probably not for you. Ultimately, all the characters and storylines are supremely intertwined at the end.
I think its misleading to say that this book is directed at a faith based audience. Faith is such a polarising concept and I would hate for someone to be put off reading this book based on that premise. I feel the author tries to capture the essential role that religion played in the lives of the people represented in this book. Also, in my opinion, the author does not condone underage marriage. It was a part of the culture of that era, and whether acceptable or not to modern society, they often proved to be happy marriages. I agree that some scenes can be overly medicalised, but i think the book is well worth it.
There will always be different perspectives. I still think that my criticism is valid based on more than 200 pages. Maybe some of the problems were fixable, but the writing wasn't good enough to make me push it even more.
Thank goodness it wasn't just me thinking this. I am bored to death with it.
The author isn’t trying to sell anyone on underage marriage. He’s simply recounting the practice that was prevalent in that day and age (in 1900). That’s what books do - tell stories of days past.
Sudha wrote: "The author isn’t trying to sell anyone on underage marriage. He’s simply recounting the practice that was prevalent in that day and age (in 1900). That’s what books do - tell stories of days past."I don't buy this excuse. He should have not created an artificial situation of postponing the consumation of their marriage that makes the practice less horiffic than it was for the reader, if his intations were "simply recounting the practice".
Really? A doctor can not be a writer? Dr Verghese has written several wonderful books in addition to being a brilliant doctor.
Linda wrote: "Really? A doctor can not be a writer? Dr Verghese has written several wonderful books in addition to being a brilliant doctor."No one said that. It is just a preference. The first paragraph of this review is about how the writing is not the problem.
Yes, it did get boring. I found myself nodding off but hoping with all the hype it was worth the effort to finish. And the ending was really not worth the time spent to get to it. More of a Maury Povich moment. Once again Oprah failed me.
I find it almost impossible to believe your review. How anyone could be bored with the exquisite writing and weaving that this man does on each and every page is completely beyond me. If you had read the novel to its end, you would see that it is in no way “A faith based book.” Two of the main characters declare quite clearly that there is no God. I think it’s amazing that this author can cover Christianity, Hinduism, and atheism all in one story with each view being honestly represented.
Cindy wrote: "I find it almost impossible to believe your review. How anyone could be bored with the exquisite writing and weaving that this man does on each and every page is completely beyond me. If you had re..."Im happy that he solves some of the problems later on. Unfortunately, I'm not gonna know if the solutions land or not. For you the writing is exquisite, for me it was just ok. People like / read different kind of books, so I wont ever find surprising that there are different opinions outhere.
Carol wrote: "Yes, it did get boring. I found myself nodding off but hoping with all the hype it was worth the effort to finish. And the ending was really not worth the time spent to get to it. More of a Maury P..."oh, Oprah. She knows how to sell everything. :)) I'm not gonna believe the hype anymore.
I’ve been listening to it and I’ve been bored, even while I’m walking my dog. I think I’m gonna stop it.
Let's see--Abraham Verghese's book has been out just over a month & has 4,700 G/R reviews & an astounding 4.55 rating. Meanwhile. a few find it boring, especially someone who is listening to the book being read to but finding it difficult to absorb while walking her dog. No book is for every reader but some 1 & 2* G/R reviews are actually an incentive to read a book, rather than not to.
I am amazed that any reader could not finish this remarkable book. I literally cannot put down this book. And I find myself re-reading paragraphs just because the writing is so beautiful. I am so sorry that this book is only 710 pages.
Thank you Flo for your honest and fair review. What I love about GR is that we all have our own perspectives about the same book. Each of us will feel whatever we feel, and that is what is beautiful about the experience of reading and reviewing here. Thank you for sharing your perspective.
Wonderful book reads like poetry flowing in a stream.
I've been laid flat after hip replacement surgery, the perfect time to delve into a 700+ page novel. The Covenant of Water is beautifully written and kept me decent company for many days in horizontal position. But by page 420 (Philipose being a jerk), it lost its charm. I soldiered on to page 500, skimming a bit here and there. It's finally time to declare DNF!I think the author cared more about telling these stories and bringing these characters to life than he did about writing a book that readers would love.
That's his choice. And I choose to do other things with my time.
I'm 70 pages in and wondering if I've missed something but your review has made me think maybe it's just not the book for me
I agree. I’m half way through and ready to throw in the towel. This is popular fiction with average prose and a lot of characters that have no depth. I’m sure the plot will come together eventually, but that is also lacking half way through.
I don’t think there should really be a comment on the number of pages. Do we do that with poems or paintings as well ? This is what the author made and you can judge the content but why the number of pages ? Of course you can not like it. Everyone is different but who still has patience to write such lengthy novels today ? We should not praise the author for it but it must be hard. As for the content personally I stopped at around 30% but I picked it back up after a month and that was a revelation. The rest went very fast and the story became, for me, more interesting.
yes....it seems to have no point....and tedious beyond measure...I'm on page 465
He can write. You just don't like his style. And past cultural habits often DID succeed. Cutting for Stone is a truly top read- this one not so much. But he is a writer. Conveying India to other cultures, even in sections- faith and superstition and habits around them are essential to their mores. Your opinion is valid but your definition of writers? W. Somerset Mangham was a doctor and no one could hit fictional characters are he did for his particular era. Indian continent cognition is highly represented in this book. But it is really 3 or 4 books in one. Not a fan.
It almost lost me about half way through but I saw it through to a bit of a surprising end. It was a good story, but thought it could have been shortened and still been effective.
As an Indian who’s lived abroad, I was shocked to find out child marriage to elders is still very much a common practice 120 years after this book depicted the arrangement, amongst many communities in impoverished parts of India. The author doesn’t “sell this”, but instead just shows it in a matter of fact way - It was and still is the reality for many kids. Anyway, I’m just 12% done and also beginning to wonder if the remaining 650Pages are worth it. Thanks for this review.
I’m struggling but hope to see it through. As soon as a character gets interesting, they die off. Frustrating.
Seems unfair to give it a rating when you didn’t finish it.
i agree, i'm struggling through it rn. prose is super flat and boring. it's so highly rated though 🥶
I appreciate DNF reviews like yours: it's meaningful to know why readers abandon books, especially after reading more than 200 pages. (I quit after this sentence, "The chaos and hurt in God's world are unfathomable mysteries, yet the Bible shows her that there is order" on page 5, and now I know I did the right thing for myself.)
No appreciation for readers who review books they haven't finished - in this case, you didn't even get halfway. How can you judge something you barely know?
how does the author use the recurring motif of water to reflect the family’s struggles and the passage of time?
As a malayalee Christian born and raised in the states, I don’t think it’s fair for you to say it’s a faith story. Faith IS central to the way I was raised, and definitely the way my parents and grandparents lived. Church attendance was not optional. At least one set of my grandparents were married with a large age gap, my grandmother married off to my grandfather bc her father had died and the family couldn’t take care of her. While we wouldn’t do that now, it was seen as more socially acceptable. The book was tough to get through for its immense detail, but not for lack of authenticity to the people it is representing.
Agree to disagree! I'm a doctor. And am atheist. And I loved this book. The writing is impeccable. I was totally absorbed by the 2 plot lines. I really disliked the book Saturday which I found contrived. The writing style in my opinion was not so good in Saturday. Happy reading!
Agnostic here; I loved this book. I also love Ian McEwan books.
