NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� The long-awaited new novel by 鈥淭he Covenant of Water,鈥� is
鈥淭he Covenant of Water," published Tuesday, is Verghese's first work of fiction since his million-selling 鈥淐utting for Stone鈥� came out in 2009. Verghese's current book is a multigenerational saga set in India from 1900-1977.
鈥淭his is one of the top five books I鈥檝e read in my lifetime. And I鈥檝e been reading since I was 3,鈥� Winfrey said in a statement. 鈥淚t鈥檚 epic. It鈥檚 transportive. Many moments during the read I had to stop and remember to breathe. I couldn鈥檛 put the book down until the very last page 鈥� it was unputdownable!鈥�
Verghese said in a statement that receiving the dream of countless authors, felt like a 鈥渕iracle.鈥�
鈥淢y thoughts were racing back through the decade-plus of writing 鈥楾he Covenant of Water,鈥� during which time my mother died, and Covid had descended on us," he said. 鈥淎fter we hung up I realized that I鈥檇 reflexively risen to my feet and stayed that way throughout our long chat.鈥�
Verghese, 67, is an Ethiopian-born physician who has also written two memoirs. He received a National Humanities Medal from President Barack Obama in 2015, and was praised during the White House ceremony for a 鈥渞ange of proficiency鈥� that extends from 鈥渉is efforts to emphasize empathy in medicine, to his imaginative renderings of the human drama.鈥�
Hillel Italie, The Associated Press
