I am a huge fan of Emma Donoghue. And while this is beautifully written, it lacks oomph. It drags and it was hard to get an emotional connection with any of the three main characters. Artt arrives at an Irish monastery in the 7th century. He has a vision of starting a new monastery, far away from civilization. He takes off with two other monks and they set up on an island miles off the coast of Ireland. Slowly, their supplies run out but Artt refuses to allow them to return back to civilization to replenish their supplies. He even initially refuses to allow them time to build shelter for themselves, deeming the work of the Lord (copying the Psaltery) more important.
The book focuses on fanaticism,obedience and faith. What makes someone truly a saint? Artt believes God will provide. As someone who believes God expects us to use the brains he gave us, I struggled with this blind faith. I also couldn’t help but wonder where Artt’s pride and belief in himself fit into this hardheadedness. The ending was predictable, despite one minor twist I didn’t see coming.
My thanks to Netgalley and Little, Brown and Company for an advance copy of this book.

I respect the research and time Emma Donoghue spent to create Haven, but I found myself skimming some of the text. I felt pity for the young and old monks, but found the Abbot to be ridiculous and unbelievably cruel . After finishing Haven, it was interesting to look up the island Skellig Michael online and learn that monks had settled on remote islands since 600 A.D.

Summary: In seventh-century Ireland, a scholar and priest called Artt has a dream telling him to leave the sinful world behind. Taking two monks—young Trian and old Cormac—he rows down the river Shannon in search of an isolated spot on which to found a monastery. Drifting out into the Atlantic, the three men find an impossibly steep, bare island inhabited by tens of thousands of birds, and claim it for God. In such a place, what will survival mean?
*
Totally different than the room was I really enjoyed that one. This was much more religious and just less enjoyable then the room. Beautifully written but not my favorite story by her

Haven, by Emma Donoghue
adventurous challenging dark emotional informative tense slow-paced
Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75 stars

Before reading Haven, it may be helpful to do an image search for “Skellig Michael,” the island on which this novel is based. While the author’s description is vivid, I found the visual reality an added aid in imagining what was happening in the story.

Emma Donoghue is an incredible writer. Similar to previous books I read by her, Room and Pull of the Stars, Haven takes place with minimal characters and in a defined space. It is almost like reading a play. I am rating this 4 stars though that’s generously rounded up since overall, I didn’t love the story itself.

Haven is about a monk in the seventh century who is very rigid in his beliefs about serving God. He trusts his dream and recruits a young and old monk to join him on a mission to start a new monastery in the wild where no human has yet disturbed it. Artt is driven by claiming an inhospitable island for God, reproducing biblical texts, and praying without ceasing.

The other two monks don’t realize there will be no opportunity to trade for survival provisions. When told to trust God, Cormac notes that he had never been challenged to justify his preference for survival. It was fascinating to read about their resourceful solutions from making soap to building a chapel and making pens

The island is covered with birds which become a primary source of survival for the men to the point that I wondered if the birds would stage a revolt and get their revenge.

The misogyny and other lack of critical thinking in blind religiosity were disturbing and a reminder of why solid theology is important. As an ordained pastor, the spouting of scripture out of context to support every situation these men found themselves in made me cringe. The lack of grace from the prior made me sad. But as Artt gets more zealous, we see how the other two begin to question where there may be imperfections in their plan.

I read this book in a day at the beach (though it’s not exactly a light beach read). I’m not sure if I had tried to read it over a few days if I would have felt compelled to pick it up and finish it. I was satisfied with the ending.

Thanks to Little Brown and Company and Net Galley for the ARC. #Haven #NetGalley.

Three monks leave their comfortable surroundings and sail off to a remote island where they won’t be tempted by sin. Things start out pretty good, but since everything enjoyable is sinful, things begin to take a turn a turn for the worse. There are so.many.birds. I wasn’t sure if this was going to end up being horror (it could have easily gone that way) but in the end, the story was just boring. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC

I read an advanced review copy from #NetGalley. Hard to categorize and very different from the author's other books. If you've been to or know of Skellig Michael in Ireland the setting and characters will be of special interest.

The descriptive narrative is mind-blowing, I could picture the overwhelming green of the island, hear the deafening sound of the roaring waves along the cliffs, and the squawks of gulls overhead.
BUT when it comes to the actual men finding a new safe Haven, suitable for them and their faith---well I needed more EPIC. I needed more internal and external battles. I wanted more thoughts of abandonment. Think Lord of the FLies for survival, The Life of Pi and that story's epic tale of arrival and survival.
Perhaps more of a religious struggle.
It just needs more--to me, my opinion.
Since it is a novel about finding a home, finding peace with in, then maybe you will enjoy it more NOT having all of the struggles one would expect when sailing and searching for a new home on an angry sea.
I love Emma Donoghue's storytelling. No two stories are alike but every main character is likable in some way for their trials.
Stray and Frog Music are still my favorites by Donoghue and it is hard for me to not judge against those.

Haven by Emma Donoghue follows three monks on a mission to found a monastery. I ended up dnfing this book at the 50 percent mark. I enjoy Emma Donoghue’s lyrical writing so I took a chance on this even though I thought the aspects may be triggering to me. It became evident very early on in this book that one of the monks was abusing his power over the other two which is something that is always hard for me to read, being a an adult who suffered through religious trauma. I don’t think it is something that would be particularly difficult for others to read, but it is something that was hard for me to read

The prose in here is absolutely stunning and the history is really interesting to learn about. I think for the right audience, this will be a huge hit. It just wasn’t for me.

In seventh-century Ireland, Artt has a dream to leave the world behind. He brings two monks with him and the three men search for an isolated place to build a monastery. After rowing down the River Shannon, they settle on a barren island where survival will take all of their faith and skill.

For some reason, I kept mistaking Haven for a psychological thriller like her bestseller Room, so medieval historical fiction was not quite what I was expecting. In all, the Robinson Crusoe-style story about three monks was okay. I find the details of how the men survived on almost nothing to be interesting, but I have no idea what the point of the story was. In case you were wondering, it's not anti-religious, but wasn't trying to win you over to religion either.

This book is not my usual cup of tea and I really struggled at first to get into it. However, I love Emma Donoghue and she is one of a handful of authors who I trust implicitly to take me on a journey. Write and I will read. Prior to selecting this novel, I had no knowledge of or interest in 7th century Ireland or a religious journey. Once I committed to this journey, I found it unusual, compelling, and alternately harsh and lovely. The descriptions of the sea travel and the small island that the 3 travel to were so well drawn that I could picture being there. I could see it and smell it and feel the raw beauty and harsh conditions. I found myself caring very much for young Trian and old Cormac, the two monks on the journey. I greatly disliked Artt the leader of the group. I think the story can serve as a cautionary tale against blind faith. We must always question those we follow and listen when our heart and mind warn us to turn away and follow another path.

Thank you to NetGalley and Little, Brown and Company for the ARC.

Thank you to Netgalley for the eARC of this book. Emma Donoghue is the author of Room, which I really enjoyed. This book was a tough read for me. Three monks set out in 1044 to find an island off the coast of Ireland. They find an island and begin to set up their monastery there. This story is based on the real island of Skellig Michael. While at first thought, this book is about religion, to me it was about power, control and use of religion to exert force. The actions of the monks made this a very difficult book for me to read, especially the last half hour of the book.

This short and powerful novel fictionalized the first settlement of Skellig Michael, an island off the west coast of Ireland. Three monks travel to the island to pray and isolate themselves from the world, but their leader, Artt, is a flawed, arrogant man. His fixation on austerity threatens their lives and flaunts any notion of sanctity of life. This was, of course, a novel about religion but is also about the dangers, in a broader sense, of power.

In writing Haven, Emma Donoghue was inspired by Skellig Michael and the monks that lived on the jagged island since 1044. Three monks in 7th century Ireland search of a ‘Haven,’ to worship God with deep intention and devotion. Once they land on the island, there is not much there except birds. So many birds. One character carves a musical pipe from a bird bone. Another time, the monks render down bird fat to make oils and waxes. There were descriptions of book binding and ink making, and of the construction of a monastery from small boulders. The story gets bogged down in the detail. I can't say I enjoyed this book just for how dry and heavy the setting is. But the ending is unpredictable and Emma's writing is on point throughout.

I don't know how Emma Donoghue does it. She can take a few characters and a very small geographic area and create a miraculous and disturbing story. That young Trian follows Brother Artt to the barrenness of Great Skellig island is less surprising than Brother Cormac, an elderly monk who has experienced much throughout his long life. The power of a deep faith and unquestioning loyalty to their master takes them on an adventure of a lifetime where their faith is stretched to the breaking point. Full of beautiful writing to make the characters and sense of place come to life.


Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Emma Donoghue is an author I will always read. However, "Haven" missed the mark for me. The story started off really well following three men, a priest and two monks, who set out on an adventure/mission to find a remote island and create their own space dedicated to their faith. The characters were flawed, complex and really well written, but the story just...fell flat. The flow and pacing of the book was off, it felt like Donoghue was trying to lead up to a reveal, but then the "big reveal" was something the reader could clearly see coming early in the book. So, essentially it's a beautiful winding story that has an end, but a very flat end.

Haven is a lovely novel that is very, very different from Emma Donoghue's Room.
An adventure is the 7th century based in Ireland, only three characters are featured - the Priest Artt who has a vision and the two monks he chooses to assit him, young Trian and older Cormac.

The three find an island for a monastery, but the real adventure is if they can survive the elements. Haven is a parable, a myth, a metaphor and based in history. If you like your stories as parables, love gaelic history, or just enjoy intelligent and descriptive prose, then Haven is for you!
#LittleBrownandCo #netgalley #Haven

We keep seeking perfection because it never was the intent for it to dwell within ourselves.

Emma Donoghue presents a complex, detailed, mind knotting experience in Haven. She reaches back in time to the 7th century down the Shannon River, off the jagged coast of Ireland, and into the far-flung positions of The Great Skellig. Here we experience its spikes of rock amid the crashing waves of the turbulent sea.

And nestled in the countryside is a monastery filled with the young and the old who have dedicated their lives to God and the salvation of the souls of others. The abbot will grant permission for three of those monks to travel to the unknown seeking a place of solace and of a restorative nature.

Trian is the youngest and has been at the monastery since he was thirteen. Always hungry and always clumsy, Trian is the first to volunteer. Cormac has been a convert for fifteen years since the death of his wife and children from the plague. He suffered with the illness but was spared. And Artt is the elusive stranger, scholar, priest who will become their Prior.

Donoghue has designed her novel to be one of human observation. In the preparation itself, we notice how each monk insists on taking the bare minimum aboard the small boat. Vital items are cast aside as extravagance. And the small sacrifice will jeopardize the advancement of this undertaking.

Prior Artt has had a dream of an island in the southwest. He knows only that. And the vow of blind obedience will be at the core of it all. The gifts of fortitude and knowledge will suffer under the extremes of obedience. And the deemed weakest of the links may be the strongest.

Without question, Emma Donoghue has a profound gift when transferring idea to page. Her novels are among my favorites for her ability to describe and portray the human spirit so superbly. Haven is not an easy read. It simmers in its telling and weighs heavily in its descriptors. It will definitely not be for everyone. But if you have a deep inquisitive mind, you'll want to see this to the end. The journey of these three will stay with you long after.

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley for an honest review. My thanks to Little, Brown and Company and to the talented Emma Donoghue for the opportunity.

Skellig Michael, a steep, rocky island off the southwestern Irish coast, is the setting for this atmospheric work, an imagined story about its early human inhabitants. In the seventh century, Artt, a scholar-priest guided by a dream, asks two monks to join him on a pilgrimage to an empty isle “less tainted by the world’s breath.” Excited at achieving a greater life purpose, the elderly Cormac, a talented storyteller and mason, agrees to go, as does Trian, a lanky, adventurous younger man. From the days-long boat journey through their mission to establish an island settlement and worship God appropriately, their work is arduous. Donoghue’s (The Pull of the Stars, 2020) prose glimmers with images of the pristine natural world, including many varieties of sea birds, but as Artt’s sanctimonious piety increasingly challenges common sense, Cormac and Trian wonder if their vows of obedience will doom them. As always, Donoghue extracts realistic emotions from characters interacting within close quarters and delicately explores the demands of faith. This evocative historical novel also works as a cautionary tale about the dangers of religious control.

(Published in Booklist, June 1, 2022 issue)

Haven is perhaps the shortest Emma Donoghue book I’ve ever read.  Compared to long sagas such as Frog Music and Room, it’s a hop, skip and a jump lengthwise but packs in her trademark sense of worldbuilding and character observation, making it a slow read.  But if you’re a fan, then it provides more of the same dark, dramatic Donoghue you like. 

It’s seventh century Ireland.  Nineteen-year-old Trian, a young and barely grown monk, joins a team of two other monks to strike out for an unspoiled and isolated island so that they might live free and isolated from sin.  Going along with Trian in this mission is the elderly Cormac, who hopes to grow crops on their island, and the renegade “living saint” Arrt, converter of pagans and man of incorruptible vaules, who hopes to shed the influence of the wicked world and pray in solitude without the luxury of the abbey surrounding him.  They are being led by Arrt’s vision, which he claims is from God, demanding they create a monastery held apart from the wicked outside world. Released from the Abbot of Cluain Mhic Nóis, they set about settling and founding their own order in isolation in the middle of the ocean. 

The three men eventually claim an island heavily populated with birds but not much else. They then set about establishing a way and place to worship, but Arrt’s impossible standards bump up against the more practical suggestions harbored by Trian and Cormac.  He forces them to carve an enormous cross, and set about creating  chapel.  The seasons change, soon isolation, hunger and illness begin to wear on the men.  Skellig Michael seemed like a paradise; but might it truly be a hell? 

As always, Donoghue leans heavily on character studies and interpersonal conflict to make her point about religion, isolation, and human desire.  This is a deep, dark book, and the love story is between our monks and God – and/or the real, waking world. 

This is not a romantic book, and it’s not a sweet book.  These monks do terrible things to each other, and most of the heavy stuff is meted out by Arrt, for whom there is no wickedness too small.  He is a God-man and the monks are bound via vows of silence and obedience to him, until he does something unforgivable and they must forsake him.  The moral message is blunt and obvious. 

If you enjoy any of Donoghue’s previous books, you’ll love Haven, but be prepared for ambiguity, darkness, and some good old fashioned introspection. 

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In seventh-century Ireland, a scholar and priest called Artt has a dream telling him to leave the sinful world behind. Taking two monks—young Trian and old Cormac—he rows down the river Shannon in search of an isolated spot on which to found a monastery. Drifting out into the Atlantic, the three men find an impossibly steep, bare island inhabited by tens of thousands of birds, and claim it for God.

I love Emma Donoghue. I have read all of her books thus far. Haven is a slow burn kinda story. It is obvious that Donoghue has done a ton of research for this novel. It's fairly short, something that could easily be read in a day or a few sittings. Overall I found it very enjoyable