Oprah Winfrey has selected Abraham Verghese’s The Covenant of Water as the latest pick for her popular book club.
Verghese’s novel, his first since Cutting for Stone in 2009, was published Tuesday by Grove. It tells the story of three generations of a family in South India who suffer a series of afflictions but are also blessed with special gifts. In a starred review, a critic for Kirkus said that to read the book is “to experience the exquisite, uniquely literary delight of all the pieces falling into place in a way one really did not see coming.”
Winfrey announced the selection on CBS Mornings, saying, “I felt transported, I felt like I lived in a different land for a while. I felt expanded. I came away humbled that someone could have a mastery of words the way Dr. Verghese does. I think this is an offering to the world.”
Verghese also appeared on the show and described the process of writing the novel.
“I wish I could say that I knew the whole story from the beginning,” he said. “I mapped it all out, but it kept changing.…There’s a saying in fiction [that] character is determined by decisions under pressure. And the moment I’d put my characters under pressure, they would tell me they were going a different way.”
Verghese also reacted to his novel’s section on Instagram, writing, “I’m shocked, delighted, and overflowing with gratitude that @oprah chose THE COVENANT OF WATER for @oprahsbookclub. What a blessing!”
Michael Schaub, a journalist and regular contributor to NPR, lives near Austin, Texas.
