Literary Fiction · Free kit
The Covenant of Water
From 1900 to 1977, a Saint Thomas Christian family on a Kerala estate called Parambil lives with a private terror: in every generation, at least one person drowns. A twelve-year-old bride grows into the matriarch known as Big Ammachi; a Glasgow surgeon washes up in Madras with burned hands; a granddaughter opens a skull and finally gives the family curse a medical name. Verghese's novel is a long, watery hymn to faith, caste, monsoon country, and the stubborn work of medicine.
“This is the covenant of water: that they're all linked inescapably by their acts of commission and omission, and no one stands alone.”
Complete free book club kit
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Plan your meeting
The Covenant of Water Printables
Get the full printable pack on Etsy, or print individual pages from Bingo, Discussion Questions, and Hosting.
Backwater sticker sheet
Die-cut stickers inspired by a canal boat, a nilavilakku lamp, a jackfruit leaf, Gray's Anatomy line art, and a Water Tree — for journals or meeting favors.
Included in printable pack
Favorite quote cards
Blank cards for the line that stayed: the covenant sentence, the dead informing the living, sugar and love, or whatever your group underlined in the monsoon.
Included in printable pack
Water Tree cheat sheet
A one-page who-is-who for the two Mariammas, JoJo, Baby Mol, Philipose, Elsie, Digby, Rune, Joppan, and Lenin — so the meeting does not spend ten minutes on names.
Included in printable pack
Book club invite
Printable invite with the kit's Water Tree question, a content note, and meeting details.
Included in printable pack
Character superlatives ballot
Vote Big Ammachi vs Elsie vs Digby vs Mariamma in categories that will start arguments, then tally out loud.
Included in printable pack
Review sheet
Likes/dislikes for length, Kerala worldbuilding, the medical mystery, the ending's reunions, and tears-to-comfort ratio. Room for a content-note check-in.
Included in printable pack