Virtual Spring Book Club
Let’s get together to discuss a “stunning and magisterial epic of love, faith, and medicine, set in Kerala, South India” (Goodreads).
Date and time
Location
Online
About this event
- 1 hour
Virtual Spring Book Club Meeting
Wednesday, May 15, 2024 from 7 to 8pm EST
Location: Online
Summary
We invite you to join Greater Detroit PBK members to discuss the book The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese. Goodreads says the following about Verghese’s novel.
"From the New York Times-bestselling author of Cutting for Stone comes a stunning and magisterial epic of love, faith, and medicine, set in Kerala, South India, following three generations of a family seeking the answers to a strange secret
Spanning the years 1900 to 1977, The Covenant of Water is set in Kerala, on India’s Malabar Coast, and follows three generations of a family that suffers a peculiar affliction: in every generation, at least one person dies by drowning—and in Kerala, water is everywhere. At the turn of the century, a twelve-year-old girl from Kerala's Christian community, grieving the death of her father, is sent by boat to her wedding, where she will meet her forty-year-old husband for the first time. From this unforgettable new beginning, the young girl—and future matriarch, Big Ammachi—will witness unthinkable changes over the span of her extraordinary life, full of joy and triumph as well as hardship and loss, her faith and love the only constants.
A shimmering evocation of a bygone India and of the passage of time itself, The Covenant of Water is a hymn to progress in medicine and to human understanding, and a humbling testament to the hardships undergone by past generations for the sake of those alive today. Imbued with humor, deep emotion, and the essence of life, it is one of the most masterful literary novels published in recent years."
Please RSVP so you can receive an email with the Zoom link prior to the event. Guests of PBK
members are welcome.
Online print reviews of The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese (some may require a password):
The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/may/18/the-covenant-of-water-by-abraham-verghese-review-a-curse-in-kerala
Kirkus Reviews: https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/abraham-verghese/the-covenant-of-water/
The New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/02/books/review/covenant-of-water-abraham-verghese.html
The Washington Post: https://www.washingtonpost.com/books/2023/05/03/oprah-pick-abraham-verghese-review/
Video Links to interviews:
CBS interview of Oprah Winfrey about the book (under 10 minutes)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jPrWQwWLpNM
Interview w/Abraham Verghese on his books (37 min.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EIqGQhRI0d4
Oprah’s interview of Abraham Verghese (50 minutes)
Frequently asked questions
The Zoom link is usually available a couple of minutes before the starting time so that the Zoom host can invite participants to join the meeting. The first few minutes of the hour are then usually spent clarifying information about the book club such as the next book club date and time.
No, participants can participate as they wish--visually and unmuted or muted without visual. The only request is to mute oneself if there is background noise.
A few have done so proactively, but the chat is unmonitored. Participants are welcome to use the online chat as long as they adhere to conventional customs of courtesy.
We have a semi-structured discussion about the book. The book club coordinator usually asks for initial impressions of the book we have read, and then participants are asked for their input. We also aspire to wrap up with an overview impression or "takeaway" of the book.
That is the norm. We have a good track record of finishing the discussion in 60 to under 70 minutes.