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 *

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.