Both intimate and epic, Abraham Verghese's breathtaking new novel tells the story of twentieth-century India through the triumphs and tribulations of one family. In 1900, a twelve-year-old girl (who will become the matriarch) marries into the family and learns of their unusual curse: every generation loses someone to drowning. Suffused with profound emotion and astonishing beauty—and boasting an ending worthy of Shakespeare—this is the literary event of the year. (BH)