Although this novel does not fit into the "Christian" genre, it provides an interesting glimpse into the life and practices of the St. Thomas Christians of India. This community, named for St. Thomas, the apostle who purportedly brought Christianity to India, is based in the state of Kerala.
The book is a family saga, which begins in 1900 with a twelve-year-old girl who travels to the home of a widower who is to become her husband. In time we learn that his family suffers from a "condition" linked to a fear of water. Many family members die of drowning and exhibit other unusual physical and mental characteristics. It's also a story about suffering, and the difficult choices each person must make in the journey through life. Of course, (if you're an English major like I am), you might see "the condition" as the human condition, one that affects us all.
Near the end of the story (1977) the author tells us:
"And now that daughter is here, standing in the water that connects them all in time and space and always has. The water she first stepped into minutes ago is long gone and yet it is here, past and present and future inexorably coupled..... This is the covenant of water: that they're all linked inescapably by their acts of commission and omission and no one stands alone."
We are all part of the human family, and the things we do, the way we think, our strengths and our weaknesses are passed on and affect the people and the world we live in. Good food for thought.
VERDICT: 5 STARS. Interesting and thoughtful.
For more book reviews see these posts:
The Extraordinary Deaths of Mrs. Kip by Sara Brunsvold — Book Review
Body of Evidence by Irene Hannon — Book Review
until Leaves fall in Paris by Sarah Sundin–Book Review
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