Some books carve themselves onto your soul. The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese is one such book. It’s a multi-generational story set against the backdrop of Kerala, where the novel brings together themes of family and culture with an unparalleled depth of emotion and intellect.
As I flipped through its 720-pages, I found myself pausing repeatedly to highlight passages that felt really poetic. And if you know me, you know that I love quotes and I love poetry. These quotes don’t just reflect back on the plot; they also highlight truths about our existence, our identity, and our shared human experiences.
In this blog post, I’m sharing some of the most memorable quotes from The Covenant of Water — some lines that have stayed with me long after I finished the book:
1.
The past is the past, and furthermore, it’s different every time I remember it.
I’ll tell you about the future, the one you will make.
2.
A tale that leaves its imprint on a listener tells the truth about how the world lives, and so, unavoidably, it is about families, their victories and wounds, and their departed, including the ghosts who linger; it must offer instructions for living in God’s realm, where joy never spares one from sorrow. A good story goes beyond what a forgiving God cares to do: it reconciles families and unburdens them of secrets whose bond is stronger than blood. But in their revealing, as in their keeping, secrets can tear a family apart.
3.
Molay, the sweetness of life is sure in only two things: love and sugar. If you don’t get enough of the first, have the second.
4.
All water is connected and only land and people are discontinuous. And his land is a place where he can no longer stay.
5.
She listens. She knows he has heard her. Because, as was always his way, he expresses his love for her the only way he knows how: through his silence.
6.
Fiction is the great lie that tells the truth about how the world lives.
7.
Yes, I am mad. You can’t set out to achieve your goals without a little madness.
8.
Feet reveal character. You could be a king or bishop and adorn your hands with jewels. But feet are your unadorned self, regardless of who you proclaim yourself to be.
9.
You see yourselves as being kind and generous to him. The ‘kind’ slaveowners in India, or anywhere, were always the ones who had the greatest difficulty seeing the injustice of slavery. Their kindness, their generosity compared to cruel slaveowners, made them blind to the unfairness of the system of slavery that they created, they maintained, and that favoured them.
10.
“I’m sorry,” he whispers.
“What are you sorry about?”
“I’m ashamed for all men,” he says.
11.
She has learned a lesson: to show weakness, to be tearful or shattered didn’t serve her. One shouldn’t just hope to be treated well: one must insist on it.
12.
We are dying while we are living, we are old even when we’re young, we are clinging to life even as we resign ourselves to leaving it.
If you haven’t read The Covenant of Water yet, let these quotes inspire you to dig into its pages. And if you have, perhaps they’ll bring back the same reflections and emotions that made the book so special for us. Either way, I hope this book moves, challenge, and inspires you as much as it did for me.
Until next time,
Ri : )
