I don’t read General Fiction often, but when I pick books like Haven and enjoy reading through, it really makes me wonder why don’t I read the genre more often!! I find this story a little complex to review, but if you enjoy good literature that explores faith, humaneness and belief, I think you’ll enjoy Haven. Emma has a way with the words, and it shows as she has written a compelling novel!

Thank you Little, Brown & Company for the reader’s cooy.

I gave this book a chance and got over half way through before giving up and reading the last 15 or so pages to see how it ends. It was just too slow for me. Beautifully written so that’s why it gets two stars.
Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

Three monks - Corman, Trian and Artt, leave a monastery in 7th century Ireland to abandon the sinful world in which they live. Artt, a living saint, takes vows of obedience from Trian and Cormac. Together they find themselves guided by God to a remote island inhabited solely by birds and set about the nearly impossible task of creating a monastery with little resources at hand.

That’s pretty much the plot. The monks arrive on the island in a somewhat plentiful time and by the time the season has changed they are barely holding it together. The book features Donahue’s sublime talent for creating beautiful imagery and descriptions but nothing about it really resonated with me. It took me a long time of mulling over this book’s contents to really understand what it was trying to say and I think it was a commentary on religion and humanity featuring elements of materialism and environmentalism.

I generally crush a book every 1-2 days. I’ve been slowly chipping away at this book since January (four months ago) and it was barely over 200 pages. Perhaps this was some sort of contrition for my sassy reviews of late. Its pacing is slow and its contents aren’t page turning despite the harsh contents. I thought this would be a survivalist tale but it didn’t pack any punches. To be honest, I was bored most of the time I was reading this.

I think this is a very specific book for a very specific reader and will not necessarily appeal to fans of the author's previous works, as was the case with me.

My thanks to NetGalley and Little Brown and Company for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I love Emma’s writing style since reading Room. This is super quick read. It’s a different book but in a good way. It’s not action packed but you will enjoy it. It would be a good book club pick since it would certainly spark interesting discussions.

Oddly compelling, this story of faith and insanity is in essence as simple as a parable. But the author’s intensity and commitment lend it a depth. As claustrophobic as ‘Room’, it’s another example of empathy in isolation. The androgyny fulcrum, however, imports a kind of weakness. Necessary, perhaps, technically speaking, yet modish.

3.5 stars An unusual, complex historical novel from Emma Donoghue about three 7th century Irish monks who form a settlement on a remote and inhospitable island off the southwest coast of Ireland. Artt is a well-travelled scholar-priest, a "living saint" who is visiting an Irish monastery when he has a dream compelling him to travel with two other monks - one old and one young - to set up an island monastery. Trian and Cormac are chosen and vow obedience to Artt before setting off in a small boat down the River Shannon and into the Atlantic Ocean on a perilous voyage to find the island from Artt's dream. The daily struggle for survival on an island that is only fit for sea birds is hindered by their leader, a zealot so firm in his belief that God will provide that he may destroy them all.

The stark island that the three monks settle on is now known as Skellig Michael - a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the site of a monastic settlement that dates to 600 AD. Donoghue's beautiful, atmospheric prose perfectly describes the starkness of this island and the struggle to survive under such harsh conditions. Haven is a quiet story about human character, religion and delusional leaders with a nod to environmental issues and a bit of suspense about how this will all end for the three monks. I can't say that I loved this book but it was definitely an interesting, thought-provoking read.

Thank you to NetGalley for the digital Advance Review Copy (ARC).

I thought that Haven was a strange book. It is definitely unlike any other book I have read before, as I would never typically jump at a chance to read about two monks and a priest. I had a hard time getting through it, but I am glad I had the opportunity to read it.

This is a beautiful book about the agonies of the soul and the desperation of self-appointed religious leaders. Three monks set forth to live on a rocky and stark island today known as Skellig Michael.. Artt believes he has been chosen by God for this path, only to put faith before survival and pay the price for it; Cormac and Trian labor for Artt only to finally come to a decision that will not involve him. It's a quiet book, capturing the natural world of medieval Ireland. It moves in a slow and steady pace and presents and develops the world and the monks with great care. Early on, I knew there was a secret--Donoghue's books and stories often have these--that would led to betrayal, but I was surprised by the way that the betrayer realizes his mistake and seeks to rectify it in very real ways. This will be great for book groups.

My first book to read by this author but definitely not my last! Such a gripping novel that made it hard for me to put his book down once I started it. Highly recommend!!

Skellig Michael is as remote and inhospitable as an island can be off the coast of Ireland, but when Art has a vision that he and two other monks should live there the power and will of God compels them to make the journey. A mix of religion and mythology made this read interesting and the delusions of blinding following such leaders was interestingly addressed. A short and powerful read that will leave you thinking.

I honestly had a hard time reading this. It is very descriptive and has great world building. The characters are greatly developed.

I thoroughly enjoyed this gentle adventure-turned-survival novel. I found the historical aspects fascinating. I also liked that the author included notes on the current day status of Skellig Michael. I recommend this title to anyone who has read "The island of the lost" by Joan Druett.

This story is unlike anything I've read before. I love this author's work, and her craft is evident throughout the book.

Three men, a scholar/priest and two monks in seventh-century Ireland leave their home and travel to a remote island based on a dream of the priest. They end up on a basically uninhabitable island, a rock in the Atlantic Ocean, and the rest of the story is one of survival.

I enjoyed the descriptions of the land and the work that the men did to survive - so interesting! The character development is amazing! I was hoping for more of a psychological thriller, which could have been included fairly easily with the different personalities of the three men. The plot twist at the end seemed a bit out of sync with the story and I wondered why the author included it.

All in all, it's a story that is a quick read, and I found myself thinking about the characters when not reading.

Thanks to NetGalley, Emma Donoghue, and Little, Brown and Company for the digital advanced copy.

Unfortunately, I found this book a bit too slow to get into and have not completed the book beyond 30%. I hope to give it another try soon.

It is well written as all Emma Donague books are, but I found all three of the main characters difficult to parse beyond tropes, and the plot seemed to stagnate despite the characters going on what sounds like it should feel like an epic journey with very high stakes.

I will read whatever Emma Donoghue cares to write about based on how much I have enjoyed her previous work. Her latest novel, "Haven," follows three monks in seventh-century Ireland who choose to leave the relative comforts of a monastery for a remote island where they plan to establish a new life dedicated to their faith. The island, known today as Skellig Michael, requires an austerity that is by turns inspiring and shocking. Donoghue — author of "Room" — excels at finding the humanity and drama in even the most confined spaces, and this book finds her in excellent form. As the three monks struggle to survive in these challenging circumstances, she explores the strength of the youngest monk, the wisdom of the oldest monk and the brilliance and cruelty of the man who had the vision to lead their quest.

In the 6th Century, three monks disillusioned with their religious order set sail from Ireland to find a new home.

Emma Donoghue"s "Haven" puts the reader in the boat, up the mountain and through the work of building a monastery on a barren rock.

She draws full portraits of the abandoned boy, the old widower and the zealous prior who leads them. Readers live through illness and starvation of the trio, anxious to know the outcome of the monks' endeavor.

Donoghue set her story on a real mountain in the sea, Skellig Michael, that did host a monastery long ago. Now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, visitation to the bird-filled rock is severely restricted, though scenes from one of the Star Wars movies were filmed here.

Another eARC from NetGalley. I am always so thankful to get these ARCs to read, and even when I don't like a book I appreciate the opportunity.

I wanted to love this book, I really did.
I LOVE the author's other works but this one just didn't do it for me.
Three monks set off to an uninhabited island after their Prior (one of said three monks) has a dream that God wants him to go there.
Trian, Cormac, and Artt give it a valiant go on this desolate island full of birds, and not much of anything else living.
Artt "lords it" over the other two as their Prior and constantly brings them to the brink of starvation and insanity.
I wish that the book focused more on what happens after Trian and Cormac finally decide to leave but sadly that's pretty much where the books ends. I feel like the writing of the book was beautifully done but the subject matter was just a drag.
I was glad to see it done, honestly. I do have to say, however, that I am intrigued by the factual basis of the story and would love to learn more about the monks that actually journeyed to this desolate isle.

2.5/5 stars. While I am very appreciative to receive an eARC of Haven, this book missed the mark. Overall, the story was too slow for me and I didn't feel a connection with any of the characters. It was well written, very descriptive, and with only three characters, easy to follow.

First off, this was like any book that I have read so it is hard to give an honest review because I was so out of my comfort zone. Emma Donohue is an amazing writer and you can tell that she put a tremendous amount of work into this novel. That being said, I really did not enjoy this book. I trudged through it because I felt the author deserved that much but it was a struggle. The monk was not only unlikable, but his piety became such a turn off. The resolution at the end provided a measure of solace but it was not a feel good type of book by any means.

I've been thinking a lot about how to review this book. I've read almost all of Donoghue's books and <i>Haven</i> is unlike anything I've read before by her. <i>Haven</i> takes place in the 600s in Ireland when a scholar-priest who is visiting a monastery gets a vision from God that he should take two monks, leave the world behind and set up a new monastery isolated on an island on the edge of the world. The 300+ pages follow the three monks as they do just that-a seemingly impossible task on an island inhospitable to anything other than birds.

I have such mixed feelings about this book. I can't say reading a survival tale about three monks was ever my dream book to read, yet I read the entire book in two days and spent hours looking up the Skellig. I hated Artt so much I kept hoping the other two monks would push him off the island. Did I enjoy the book? I honestly don't know, but I'll be thinking about it for a while.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of this book.