Best Selling Books by Abraham Verghese

The memoir and first book from the author of the beloved New York Times bestseller Cutting for Stone. Nestled in the Smoky Mountains of eastern Tennessee, the town of Johnson City had always seemed exempt from the anxieties of modern American life. But when the local hospital treated its first AIDS patient, a crisis that had once seemed an “urban problem” had arrived in the town to stay. Working in Johnson City was Abraham Verghese, a young Indian doctor specializing in infectious diseases. Dr. Verghese became by necessity the local AIDS expert, soon besieged by a shocking number of male and female patients whose stories came to occupy his mind, and even take over his life. Verghese brought a singular perspective to Johnson City: as a doctor unique in his abilities; as an outsider who could talk to people suspicious of local practitioners; above all, as a writer of grace and compassion who saw that what was happening in this conservative community was both a medical and a spiritual emergency. Out of his experience comes a startling but ultimately uplifting portrait of the American heartland as it confronts—and surmounts—its deepest prejudices and fears.

OPRAH’S BOOK CLUB PICK • INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • SUBJECT OF A SIX-PART SUPER SOUL PODCAST SERIES HOSTED BY OPRAH WINFREY 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 “One of the best books I’ve read in my entire life. It’s epic. It’s transportive . . . It was unputdownable!”—Oprah Winfrey, OprahDaily.com The Covenant of Water is the long-awaited new novel by Abraham Verghese, the author of the major word-of-mouth bestseller Cutting for Stone, which has sold over 1.5 million copies in the United States alone and remained on the New York Times bestseller list for over two years. Spanning the years 1900 to 1977, The Covenant of Water is set in Kerala, on South 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 long-existing 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, known as 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 difficulties undergone by past generations for the sake of those alive today. It is one of the most masterful literary novels published in recent years.

Marion and Shiva Stone are twin brothers born of a secret union between a beautiful Indian nun and a brash British surgeon. Orphaned by their mother’s death and their father’s disappearance and bound together by a preternatural connection and a shared fascination with medicine, the twins come of age as Ethiopia hovers on the brink of revolution. Moving from Addis Ababa to New York City and back again, Cutting for Stone is an unforgettable story of love and betrayal, medicine and ordinary miracles—and two brothers whose fates are forever intertwined.

An unforgettable, illuminating story of how men live and how they survive, from Abraham Verghese, the acclaimed New York Times bestselling author of Cutting for Stone and The Covenant of Water, an Oprah''s Book Club Pick. “Heartbreaking. . . . Indelible and haunting, [The Tennis Partner] is an elegy to friendship found, and an ode to a good friend lost.”—The Boston Globe When Abraham Verghese, a physician whose marriage is unraveling, relocates to El Paso, Texas, he hopes to make a fresh start as a staff member at the county hospital. There he meets David Smith, a medical student recovering from drug addiction, and the two men begin a tennis ritual that allows them to shed their inhibitions and find security in the sport they love and with each other. This friendship between doctor and intern grows increasingly rich and complex, more intimate than two men usually allow. Just when it seems nothing can go wrong, the dark beast from David’s past emerges once again—and almost everything Verghese has come to trust and believe in is threatened as David spirals out of control.

This fiction is set in Nedumanoor, in south Kerala, an imaginary village. The time scale of the story spans from the 1930’s to the next millennium with three generations in focus. Kunj, a school dropout was deeply in love with a beautiful girl, Marria. However, Marria was not smitten by him. Read how Kunj managed to marry her and from then on how Marria became a “living dowry” for his family. Several people and social factors controlled how life proceeded for Marria in that society. The story has exploitation of women, skewed romances, a wrestling match, marriage brokering, school teachers, Church pastors, and so on. All these are woven to make an interesting reading and an insight into the rural life that once existed in Kerala, the state which has the sobriquet “God’s own country”. Do these happen even today? It is for the readers’ to judge.

At the age of thirty-six, on the verge of completing a decade''s worth of training as a neurosurgeon, Paul Kalanithi was diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer. One day he was a doctor treating the dying, and the next he was a patient struggling to live. And just like that, the future he and his wife had imagined evaporated. When Breath Becomes Air chronicles Kalanithi''s transformation from a naive medical student "possessed," as he wrote, "by the question of what, given that all organisms die, makes a virtuous and meaningful life" into a neurosurgeon at Stanford working in the brain, the most critical place for human identity, and finally into a patient and new father confronting his own mortality. What makes life worth living in the face of death? What do you do when the future, no longer a ladder toward your goals in life, flattens out into a perpetual present? What does it mean to have a child, to nurture a new life as another fades away? These are some of the questions Kalanithi wrestles with in this profoundly moving, exquisitely observed memoir. Paul Kalanithi died in March 2015, while working on this book, yet his words live on as a guide and a gift to us all. "I began to realize that coming face to face with my own mortality, in a sense, had changed nothing and everything," he wrote. "Seven words from Samuel Beckett began to repeat in my head: ''I can''t go on. I''ll go on.''" When Breath Becomes Air is an unforgettable, life-affirming reflection on the challenge of facing death and on the relationship between doctor and patient, from a brilliant writer who became both.

Uma saga familiar arrebatadora do autor de O décimo primeiro mandamento, que já vendeu mais de 1,5 milhão de exemplares no mundo. Best-seller instantâneo do New York Times e livro escolhido para o clube de leitura de Oprah Winfrey. Abrangendo os anos de 1900 a 1977, O pacto da água se passa em Kerala, na costa de Malabar, no sul da Índia, e acompanha uma família que sofre de um mal: em cada uma das três gerações, pelo menos uma pessoa morre afogada — e naquela região há água por toda parte. A narrativa começa com uma menina de doze anos, enviada para seu casamento com um homem de quarenta anos. A jovem — e futura matriarca, conhecida como Grande Ammachi — testemunhará uma série de mudanças ao longo de sua vida, marcada por alegrias, triunfos, reviravoltas, dificuldades e perdas. Com uma prosa que captura e envolve o leitor desde a primeira página, este romance magistral é um testemunho do progresso da medicina, da própria passagem do tempo e dos sacrifícios feitos por aqueles que vieram antes de nós. "Um dos melhores livros que li em toda a minha vida. Épico, capaz de transportar o leitor. Impossível parar de ler." — Oprah Winfrey "Assim como em O décimo primeiro mandamento, o conhecimento médico de Verghese combina-se à sua fascinante atenção aos detalhes para criar cenas de sobrevivência e procedimentos cirúrgicos de tirar o fôlego. A ternura está presente em cada página, ao mesmo tempo em que o autor é implacável ao retratar as diversas vulnerabilidades que atingem seus personagens pelo simples fato de estarem vivos." — The Guardian

Una magistral saga familiar ambientada en la India del siglo XX que ha cautivado al público y la crítica por el autor de Hijos del ancho mundo. «Grandiosa, espectacular y arrolladora.»- The New York Times «Uno de los tres mejores libros que leído en toda mi vida. [...] Épico, emocionante, absorbente.»- Oprah Winfrey El pacto del agua sigue a una familia que sufre una aflicción peculiar: en cada generación, al menos una persona muere ahogada, y en Kerala el agua está en todas partes. A principios del siglo XX, una niña de doce años es enviada en barco para contraer matrimonio con un hombre de cuarenta al que no conoce. A partir de entonces, la joven y futura matriarca, conocida como Big Ammachi, será testigo de cambios impensables: una historia llena de alegrías, pruebas de amor y lucha ante las adversidades. Evocación de una India desaparecida, imbuida de humor y emoción, El pacto del agua es un himno al entendimiento humano y al progreso de la medicina, y un testimonio de las dificultades sufridas por las generaciones pasadas por el bienestar de quienes viven ahora. ENGLISH DESCRIPTION OPRAH''S BOOK CLUB PICK * INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * SUBJECT OF A SIX-PART SUPER SOUL PODCAST SERIES HOSTED BY OPRAH WINFREY 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 "One of the best books I''ve read in my entire life. It''s epic. It''s transportive . . . It was unputdownable!"--Oprah Winfrey, OprahDaily.com The Covenant of Water is the long-awaited new novel by Abraham Verghese, the author of the major word-of-mouth bestseller Cutting for Stone, which has sold over 1.5 million copies in the United States alone and remained on the New York Times bestseller list for over two years. Spanning the years 1900 to 1977, The Covenant of Water is set in Kerala, on South 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 long-existing 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, known as 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 difficulties undergone by past generations for the sake of those alive today. It is one of the most masterful literary novels published in recent years.

Relanzamos esta historia apasionante que sigue a sus protagonistas a través de la India, África y América a lo largo de cinco décadas. En el modesto hospital Missing de Adis Abeba, Etiopía, nacen dos gemelos, Marion y Shiva Stone, hijos de una monja india que muere en el parto y de un cirujano británico que desaparece sin dejar rastro. Los primeros años de los hermanos Stone transcurren en el feliz microcosmos del hospital misionero, criados por un grupo de personas que se afana en curar a los enfermos, pero con el paso del tiempo sus vidas comenzarán a tambalearse ante la presión de los acontecimientos que sacuden Etiopía, hasta que los hermanos se ven arrastrados por caminos diferentes. Esta historia apasionante sigue a sus protagonistas a través de la India, África y América durante cinco décadas, en un gran fresco de un país muy poco conocido en occidente ENGLISH DESCRIPTION NATIONAL BESTSELLER Marion and Shiva Stone are twin brothers born of a secret union between a beautiful Indian nun and a brash British surgeon. Orphaned by their mother’s death and their father’s disappearance, bound together by a preternatural connection and a shared fascination with medicine, the twins come of age as Ethiopia hovers on the brink of revolution. Moving from Addis Ababa to New York City and back again, Cutting for Stone is an unforgettable story of love and betrayal, medicine and ordinary miracles—and two brothers whose fates are forever intertwined. This sweeping, emotionally riveting novel that "shows how history and landscape and accidents of birth conspire to create the story of a single life" (Los Angeles Times) is an enthralling family saga of Africa and America, doctors and patients, exile and home.

Travancore, Costa di Malabar, 1900. Una ragazzina di dodici anni cerca di prendere sonno tra le braccia di sua madre. Domani lascerà la casa in cui è cresciuta per andare sposa all’uomo cui è stata promessa. Colui che diventerà suo marito, il nuovo padrone della sua vita, ha trent’anni di piú, è vedovo, con un figlio ancora bambino. La piccola sposa va incontro al suo futuro cosí come è stato deciso da altri, come hanno fatto sua madre e la madre di sua madre prima di lei. «Il giorno piú brutto nella vita di una ragazza è il giorno del matrimonio. Poi, se Dio vuole, le cose migliorano» le viene detto. Il vedovo è un buon partito, come loro è parte di quell’antichissima comunità di cristiani convertiti da san Tommaso diciotto secoli prima, e per qualche strano motivo accetta una moglie senza una rupia di dote, anche se si mormora che la sua stirpe sia afflitta da una strana maledizione: in ogni generazione almeno una persona muore affogata. E in quello che oggi si chiama Kerala l’acqua è ovunque, plasma la terra in una trina di laghi e lagune, accompagna col suo canto sommesso le esistenze, si nutre dei monsoni, collega tutto nel tempo e nello spazio. La sposa viene accolta con affetto nella nuova casa e, nell’arco della sua lunga, straordinaria vita, conosce la gioia di un grande amore, patisce il dolore di infinite perdite, assiste a cambiamenti epocali. La sua famiglia si espanderà e si ritirerà con le nascite e le morti. Finché arriverà una nipote che porterà il suo nome, studierà medicina e giungerà a una scoperta sconvolgente. Evocazione luminosa di un’India in cammino verso la sua trasformazione politica e culturale, celebrazione di un popolo antico immerso in una natura ancora prepotente, Il patto dell’acqua è il nuovo romanzo di Abraham Verghese, «che espone il lettore a una bellezza cui altrimenti non potrebbe accedere» (The New York Times); un libro-mondo di straordinaria potenza che custodisce tutti gli eventi preziosi dell’esperienza umana. «Una prosa sorretta da una profonda e coerente architettura morale dell’animo umano. Un romanzo grandioso, spettacolare, coinvolgente». The New York Times «Con maestria, Verghese plasma le vite dei suoi protagonisti a colpi di guerre, monsoni, carestie, pestilenze e inondazioni su una scena grandiosa come quella del Dottor Živago, pur senza perdere lo sguardo intimo sulle piccole cose». The Washington Post «Abraham Verghese racconta la saga di una famiglia attraverso un secolo di cambiamenti epocali, senza mai dimenticare che l’amore e la gentilezza d’animo possono vincere sulla violenza». Los Angeles Times «Mentre leggevo Il patto dell’acqua ogni tanto dovevo fermarmi e ricordarmi di respirare». Oprah Winfrey

''Een epos van goddelijke allure.'' ***** Humo ''Verbluffend epos.'' De Morgen De nieuwe roman van de auteur van de bestseller De heelmeesters: een groots opgezet en fabelachtig geschreven familie-epos tegen de achtergrond van het India van de twintigste eeuw Zuid-India, begin vorige eeuw. Een jonge bruid reist per boot met haar echtgenoot naar haar nieuwe thuis. Ze hebben elkaar die dag voor het eerst ontmoet bij het altaar. Hij is een wat oudere weduwnaar, zwijgzaam en net zo imposant als de olifant die hem helpt op het land. Ze wonen diep landinwaarts, in een wereld van riviertjes en kanalen, een netwerk van meren en lagunes, een doolhof van binnenwateren en lotusvijvers. Na verloop van tijd maken de angst en heimwee van de jonge bruid plaats voor innige liefde voor haar man en diens zoontje, en krijgt ze de bijnaam Big Ammachi (grote mama). Maar dan vindt er een tragedie plaats. Zo komt ze achter het bestaan van ‘de Aandoening’: een mysterie dat in elke generatie van de familie speelt en waardoor er telkens weer iemand op raadselachtige wijze verdrinkt in meertjes, plassen en ander ondiep water. Het verbond van het water vertelt het verhaal van Big Ammachi en haar zoon Philipose, die wordt gehinderd door een lichte vorm van ‘de Aandoening’ maar zich toch ontwikkelt tot een gerenommeerd schrijver. Het is ook het verhaal van haar briljante kleindochter Mariamma, die een heel ander pad inslaat en een opleiding tot chirurg volgt om het raadsel dat haar familie in zijn greep houdt op te lossen. De ontdekking van een gecodeerde stamboom en de aantekeningen van haar vader, een dwangmatige dagboekschrijver, wijzen haar de weg, maar brengen ook nieuwe geheimen aan het licht die haar in de kern van haar wezen raken. In de pers ‘Een verteller pur sang. In prachtige zinnen schetst de auteur het leven met angst als start, liefde als gevolg, en daarna een tragedie.’ Reformatorisch Dagblad ''Abraham Verghese portretteert het India van de twintigste eeuw op onnavolgbare wijze. Het verbond van het water is een schitterende roman vol onderling verbonden verhalen. [...] Verghese weet hoe je een verhaal moet vertellen. [...] De taal van Verghese is even gemakkelijk als meeslepend. Zijn zinnen zijn vaak beeldend, of scherp en ook de humor ontbreekt niet. Op overtuigende en natuurlijke wijze legt Verghese verbanden tussen de verschillende verhaallijnen en brengt hij zijn personages tot leven. [...] Het verbond van het water is een boeiende, meeslepende roman, aangrijpend en ontroerend.'' Nederlands Dagblad ‘Dit epische verhaal bruist van lyriek en spanning en neemt je mee door de tijd en continenten. Tijdens het lezen moest ik vaak stoppen om mezelf eraan te herinneren adem te halen. Ik kon het boek niet wegleggen tot de allerlaatste pagina. Het is zeer meeslepend!’ Oprah Winfrey (Oprah’s 101st Book Club Pick) ‘Verghese overtreft zichzelf met dit grootse en verbluffende eerbetoon aan het India van de twintigste eeuw.’ Publishers Weekly (starred review) ‘Groots, spectaculair, meeslepend en zeer boeiend. Verghese heeft een talent voor spanning, en zijn gemakkelijke omgang met taal sleept je moeiteloos door het verhaal heen, waardoor je nauwelijks beseft dat je decennium na decennium en pagina na pagina doorploegt.’ New York Times Book Review

Dallʼautore de Il patto dellʼacqua, unʼavvincente saga familiare che si dipana attraverso cinque decenni tra India, Etiopia e America. La notte in cui Marion e Shiva vengono al mondo, le rose della direttrice Hirst sbocciano a incorniciare le finestre dell’ospedale di Missing, Addis Abeba. Rose rosse come il sangue che suor Mary Joseph, nella sala operatoria 3, sta perdendo a fiotti mentre cerca di dare alla luce i suoi gemelli, troppo sangue. Tutto è cominciato sette anni prima, quando una giovane indiana con gli occhi profondi raggiunge l’ospedale in cerca del dottor Stone, chirurgo apprezzatissimo ma uomo impenetrabile, armata soltanto dei suoi voti a Dio. Da quel momento, a ogni operazione, suor Mary Joseph si lava le mani e si piazza di fronte a lui manovrando divaricatori e passando bisturi senza che il dottore debba pronunciare una sola parola. E a ogni operazione l’intesa fra loro cresce. La stessa intesa – quasi telepatica – che ora lega i gemelli, due maschietti che miracolosamente sopravvivono alla madre, morta di parto, e al padre che, sconvolto, fugge abbandonandoli. I bambini crescono nell’ospedale, fra l’autoclave che sibila come un drago e le cure di medici e infermiere che vi lavorano. Entrambi si appassionano alla medicina, entrambi alla stessa donna: per questo Marion, sconfitto, lascerà l’Etiopia scossa da fermenti rivoluzionari per un poverissimo ospedale nel Bronx. Niente al modo sembra poter ricucire la ferita senza perdono che si è aperta tra i fratelli. Niente, se non l’incontro improvviso con un padre mai conosciuto. Nel racconto di una terra in cui il mito sembra emergere naturalmente dal quotidiano e di una famiglia che condensa in sé l’intera esperienza umana, Verghese intreccia i fili della sua trama guidato dal desiderio «di mettere a nudo le anime, oltre che i corpi, dei personaggi» (The New York Times), e dà vita a una storia unica, immensa, indimenticabile. «Un romanzo alla Cormac McCarthy, in cui la morte e la vita, il luogo in cui si nasce e la grande Storia concorrono a costruire il racconto di una singola esistenza». Los Angeles Times

Bij de dramatische bevalling van de tweelingbroers Marion en Shiva overlijdt hun moeder, zuster Mary Joseph Praise, in het kraambed. Niemand in het missiehospitaal wist van Mary s zwangerschap. Zelfs niet de vermoedelijke vader, dokter Stone. Hij vlucht de operatiekamer uit en verdwijnt spoorloos. Een bevriend artsenstel ontfermt zich met liefde over de twee jongetjes. Marion en Shiva groeien op in het Ethiopië van de jaren zeventig, dat wordt geteisterd door een revolutie die iedereen in de spiraal van geweld en verraad mee sleurt. Toch is het niet de politieke situatie maar hun gedeelde passie voor dezelfde vrouw waardoor de broers tegenover elkaar komen te staan. Marion ontvlucht zijn land. Jaren later slaat het noodlot toe en komt zijn leven in handen te liggen van de twee mannen die hij het minst vertrouwt: zijn verdwenen vader en zijn broer Shiva. Blijken ze in staat de pijn en het verdriet uit het verleden te overwinnen en oude wonden te helen? Het antwoord leidt niet alleen tot het dramatische hoogtepunt van De heelmeesters, maar ook tot een onverwachte ontdekking over de laatste dagen van hun moeder en geliefde, zuster Mary Praise. De heelmeesters is het romandebuut van Abraham Verghese. Het verhaal beweegt zich tussen twee continenten, en bestrijkt de levens van de tweelingbroers Marion en Shiva, die hun leven lang de reden zoeken dat hun vader hen in de steek heeft gelaten. De heelmeesters is een indrukwekkend en menselijk verhaal vol verbeeldingskracht dat de lezer diep raakt. Een onvergetelijk portret van twee broers, een ode aan de geneeskunst en een familiesaga over vaders en zonen, macht en compassie, vertrouwen en verraad.

Shiva și Marion, gemeni identici, vin pe lume din relația secretă a unei călugărițe indiene cu un chirurg englez, într-un spital al unei misiuni din Etiopia. Uniți la nivelul capului, cei doi sunt separați în ultimul moment. Rămași orfani de mamă în ziua în care se nasc și părăsiți de tată în aceeași zi, cei doi copii împărtășesc o legătură supranaturală și aceeași pasiune pentru medicină și se maturizează pe fondul tulburărilor politice care zguduie Etiopia în anii 1960–1970. Dragostea pentru Genet, fiica doicii lor, și implicarea acesteia în lupta pentru eliberarea Eritreei îi despart în cele din urmă, iar Marion, proaspăt absolvent al școlii de medicină, este nevoit să fugă în America. Destinul, prin intermediul aceleiași Genet, îi readuce împreună pe cei doi frați în împrejurări dramatice, care refac într-un mod special legătura cu tatăl dispărut. Saga gemenilor Shiva și Marion Stone traversează continente și generații, desfășurându-se în Africa și în America de-a lungul a cinci decenii, și conturează o poveste despre dragoste și trădare, despre compasiune și vindecare, despre exil și apartenență. Magistral... Verghese creionează un tablou viu al locurilor, al practicilor medicale și al conflictelor interioare ale personajelor sale.

”Efter otte måneder i dunkelheden i vores mors skød kom min bror Shiva og jeg til verden sent på eftermiddagen den tyvende september i det herrens år 1954. Vi drog vores første åndedrag i knap to en halv kilometers højde i den tynde luft i Addis Abeba, Etiopiens hovedstad.” Tvillingebrødrene Marion og Shiva Stone er frugten af et dramatisk og forbudt kærlighedsforhold mellem en indisk nonne og en britisk kirurg, som begge arbejder på Missing – et hospital drevet af nonner i Addis Abeba. Fra den dag brødrene fødes på missionshospitalet har de kun hinanden: Moren dør i barselssengen, og faren forsvinder sporløst. Mellem brødrene opstår et stærkt bånd, ikke mindst på grund af deres fælles lidenskab for medicin og lægegerningen. Men deres opvækst er ikke udramatisk i et Etiopien, der befinder sig på randen af revolution og kaos. Det bliver dog ikke politik, men kærlighed til den samme pige, Genet, der splitter brødrene og tvinger Marion til at flygte fra sit hjemland. Han tager til New York, hvor han søger tilflugt i sit arbejde som læge på et overfyldt og underbemandet hospital i Bronx’ slum. Da fortiden indhenter ham, tvinges han til at lægge sit liv i hænderne på de to, han stoler mindst på i hele verden – faren, som forlod ham og broren, som forrådte ham. Knivens æg er en uforglemmelig rejse gennem én mands helt specielle liv. En fortælling, der spænder over tre kontinenter og fem årtier - om fædre og sønner, læger og patienter, svigt og selvopofrelse, hjem og eksil.

Depois de se conhecerem no navio que os levou da Índia para o Iêmen, o médico inglês Thomas Stone e a freira carmelita Mary Joseph Praise se reencontram num hospital em Adis Abeba, capital da Etiópia. Da união proibida entre os dois, nasce um par de gêmeos unidos pela cabeça, e operados em seguida. Para completar o cenário dramático, a mãe morre no parto e o pai desaparece no mundo, deixando os meninos nas mãos de um casal de médicos missionários. Shiva e Marion crescem juntos na Etiópia, mas uma mulher abrirá um abismo entre eles, separando-os radicalmente outra vez. Avançando por páginas em que não faltam lugares e personagens fascinantes, a saga se desloca da África para um hospital nos Estados Unidos. Traumas e decepções do passado ressurgem, e será preciso superá-los para reencontrar o amor que os une e a possibilidade de redenção. Comparado aos grandes romancistas do século XIX, Verghese esbanja talento ao costurar literatura e medicina numa trama apaixonante e impossível de largar, como mostram os milhares de livros vendidos no exterior.

"One of the best books I''ve read in my entire life. It''s epic. It''s transportive . . . It was unputdownable!" Oprah Winfrey Mariammas är bara tolv år och skräckslagen, när hon skickas i väg på en båt för att gifta sig med en fyrtioårig man hon aldrig träffat. Oväntat nog blir hon väl mottagen och äktenskapet blir lyckat. Mariamma förvandlas med tiden till matriarken Big Ammachi som hela trakten tyr sig till; hon blir till en älskad centralgestalt i den lilla staden Parambil under kommande sju decennier. Under den tiden upptäcker hon att en förbannelse vilar över släkten och platsen. En märklig förbannelse där en person i varje generation drunknar. Eller drabbas av "tillståndet" som det kallas, något som sprider skräck i hela Kerala trakten, ett landskap som genomströmmas och omges av vatten. Samtidigt får vi också ta del av en annan berättelse där vi följer Digby Kilgour, en skotsk läkare, som i koloniala tider reser från Glasgow till Madras för att bistå med sin läkarkompetens och med nya mediciner från väst. Genom romanen, som sträcker sig över åtta decennier, sker också flera historiska stora händelser. Indierna slåss för britterna i världskriget. Indien blir självständigt. Nyheterna på radio tillkännager staten Kerala och kommunisterna segrar i valet. Vattnets förbannelse är en svindlande roman som pulserar av liv, värme, humor och gripande öden, som vi tänker på länge efter en avslutad läsning. En färgstark och bitterljuv berättelse om ett svunnet Indien, men också en lovsång till medicinska framsteg som räddat generationer och trotsat fördomar och vidskepelse. Abraham Vergheses roman "Skära för sten" blev en enorm succé när den kom 2010. "Vattnets förbannelse" utkom 2023 i USA och har gått i samma fotspår. Hittills har boken sålt över en miljon exemplar. För läsare av Arundhati Roy och Amy Tan.

»Eines der besten Bücher, die ich je gelesen habe – und ich lese, seit ich drei bin.« Oprah Winfrey Die bewegende Geschichte einer Familie starker Frauen, die ein besonderes Geheimnis birgt ... Kerala, um 1900: Die junge Mariamma verlässt ihr Zuhause, um bei ihrem neuen Mann in Parambil zu leben, inmitten von Flüssen und Kanälen, Palmen und Jackfruchtbäumen. Sie vermisst ihre Mutter, und ihr Mann scheint sich kaum für sie zu interessieren. Doch bald findet sie in ihrem fünfjährigen Stiefsohn Jojo einen Gefährten, der nicht von ihrer Seite weicht. Als er, der stets das Wasser gescheut hat, bei einem Unfall ertrinkt, kommt sie einem Geheimnis ihrer neuen Familie auf die Spur: Seit Generationen gibt es immer wieder Familienmitglieder, die unerklärliche Angst vor dem Wasser haben; viele von ihnen sind ertrunken. Doch was dahintersteckt, bleibt ein Rätsel. In den folgenden Jahrzehnten wächst Mariammas Familie und sie wird zur glücklichen Mutter, Großmutter und Matriarchin »Big Ammacchi«. Und auch der Fortschritt hält Einzug in Parambil. Während in der Welt Kriege toben und Indien der Befreiung zustrebt, werden in Parambil Straßen und Schulen gebaut, die Häuser mit Elektrizität versorgt und die Menschen endlich medizinisch betreut– und schließlich kann auch das Rätsel um den »Fluch des Wassers« aufgeklärt werden. Abraham Verghese schlägt in seinem lang erwarteten, bewegenden und bildgewaltigen neuen Roman einen epischen Bogen durch fast ein ganzes Jahrhundert indischer Geschichte. Er erzählt anhand des Schicksals einer Familie vom Sieg des Wissens und der modernen Medizin, von der Überwindung von Klassen und Kasten – und von den ganz großen Dingen: von Liebe und Tod, Schuld und Erlösung.

Ein meisterhaftes Epos über Familie, Liebe und die wundersame Schönheit als Arzt andere zu heilen Äthiopien in den sechziger Jahren: Marion und Shiva Stone, eineiige Zwillingsbrüder, wachsen als Waisenkinder in einem Missionshospital in Addis Abeba auf, der Kaiserstadt Haile Selassies. Ihre Mutter, eine schöne indische Nonne, starb bei ihrer Geburt, ihr Vater, ein britischer Chirurg, verschwand spurlos. Marion und Shiva sind unzertrennlich, und sie verbindet die Faszination für die Medizin, doch als sie zu jungen Männern heranwachsen, treibt die Liebe – ihre Leidenschaft für dieselbe Frau – einen Keil zwischen die beiden. Marion muss aus seinem von politischen Unruhen geschüttelten Heimatland fliehen, kommt nach Amerika und geht in seiner Arbeit in einem New Yorker Krankenhaus auf. Doch dann holt ihn die Vergangenheit ein, und er muss sein Leben ausgerechnet in die Hände der beiden Männer legen, denen er am wenigsten vertraut: seinem Vater, der ihn im Stich gelassen, und seinem Bruder, der ihn betrogen hat. Rückkehr nach Missing erzählt die unvergessliche Geschichte einer großen Liebe: zu den Menschen und zur Medizin. Eine packende Familiensaga über Afrika und Amerika, Ärzte und Patienten, Exil und Heimat.

I "Vandets pagt" fortælles en intens og dramatisk slægtshistorie, der strækker sig over tre generationer og mere end syv årtier. Vi skriver år 1900, da den tolvårige Mariamma sendes af sted med båd til Kerala i det sydlige Indien for at gifte sig med en fyrreårig enkemand. Trods alle Mariammas bange anelser bliver ægteskabet lykkeligt, og hun udvikler sig over de næste syv årtier til at blive familiens overhoved og det urokkelige centrum i huset Parambil. Hun må dog smerteligt erfare, at familien hjemsøges af en særlig forbandelse: I hver ny generation dør mindst én ved drukning, og i Kerala er der vand overalt. "Vandets pagt" er en fortælling om forældre og børn, læger og patienter, tilgivelse og sorg og om at tage sin skæbne på sig - alt sammen fortalt med udviklingen fra kolonialt styre til selvstændighed som det stærke bagtæppe. Bogen er den amerikanske læge og professor Abraham Vergheses anden roman. Hans første, "Knivens æg" (2009), lå på New York Times'' bestsellerliste i tre år og er udkommet i flere end 50 lande, herunder i Danmark.

Primeiro médico a escrever um livro para contar sua experiência com pacientes de AIDS, Abraham Verghese nos oferece, além de um registro fundamental de um dos desafios mais cruciais de nossa época, um texto primoroso sobre a transformação de um médico. Sua narrativa é desencadeada pela chegada da AIDS a uma pequena e provinciana cidade dos Estados Unidos, pondo em crise hábitos e valores. Um jovem médico de origem indiana acaba por tornar-se o principal intérprete das reações que aos poucos vão tomando forma - medos e preconceitos, mas também laços de compaixão.

Ethiopie, 1954. Deux frères jumeaux, orphelins de mère, grandissent dans l''insouciance, unis comme les doigts de la main. Mais bientôt, la révolution gronde et les deux frères se déchirent pour l''amour d''une femme. L''un fuit pour les Etats-Unis, l''autre reste au pays. Ils ne se retrouveront que bien plus tard, pour percer le secret de leur identité.

One of the pleasures of watching nature is getting to know the various life forms that exist around us. The best way of appreciating the natural history is to watch the most abundant of creatures in the environment and to this category belongs insects which consist of almost two-thirds of all moving animals. Many of them occur very proximal to us enabling closer observation and recording. Barring the exceptions like mosquitoes, flies, cockroaches, bed bugs, head lice and fleas a vast majority of insects are either useful or interesting. Insects are so intertwined with plants, soil and other animals in a habitat that watching insects leads us to the entire gamut of life in nature. So, watching insects takes a person very close to nature. This book is written with as minimum jargon as possible, to introduce readers to the world of insects especially students and lay public. However, to avoid certain technical terms is difficult and therefore this may pop up here and there. But a single reading through the book will certainly show how varied insects are and this variation by itself should be a stimulation to go out into nature and watch these creatures. A simple hand lens, pen and pad are all that one requires to watch and record insects. So, Happy Insect-Watching...