The Covenant of Water: An Oprah’s Book Club Selection

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736 pages

Average rating: 8.35

1,298 RATINGS

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47 REVIEWS

Community Reviews

JShrestha
Feb 24, 2025
5/10 stars
I really feel this is a book that alot won't have the drive to finish and alot will have various interpretations on whether it is worth it. I choose the audiobook due to the length but tried not to let the length discourage me as it comes highly rated. I feel very torn on how i feel about alot of aspects of this book. First of all, the cultural appropriation of the narration was a bit too much for me and it made it distasteful for me to listen too long. Second, the author flirts the line with this book being a female empowering character plot and a male centric dominating/mansplaing events. There is a moment where I think it is suppose to come across as a loving intimate reunion between a husband and wife but it sounds more like marital rape. I have alot of back and forth debate to myself if this author is writing a respectful loving unique multigenerational love story of country and family or if they are writing to praise and not shame away of the culture of a country that leans more towards child marriages and male dominance. It is interesting that there is barely any religious aspect to this book even though there is so much cultural references and the hope, faith, and connection is all community and family driven. I personally don't regret reading this book but i wouldn't suggest it to others for recreational reading but would recommend it for bookclub readers who wants plenty of hot topics. I think its due to the length that this book gives so many mixed interpretations, unnecessary subplots, and an unfocused messages from the author. The book should have been shorter. If it was just the Mariamma (Big Ammachi) storyline, I would have love it and given it 5 stars.
Bexstar
Jan 30, 2025
9/10 stars
An intoxicating and absorbing read; a mammoth book, but worth it. An emotional rollercoaster spanning 77 years and following three generations. I was so invested that they felt like my own family. It was a thrill to share their successes and tragedies.
grldchz
Jan 26, 2025
6/10 stars
Oprah and Obama both said this was a best book of the year. Don't believe them.
Renmoews
Jan 18, 2025
5/10 stars
Too long, rambling, and tragic for me. it was hard to connect to the characters.
Anonymous
Dec 11, 2024
8/10 stars
This was an incredibly well written book that spans seven generations and two continents. It was very detailed, very long, at some point, some of the names became a bit confusing causing me to lose focus and not pay as much attention. But I thought this was a very well-crafted story culminating in very interestingly at the end.

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