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brogancha's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Vomit, Animal cruelty, Toxic friendship, and Transphobia
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts
serendipitysbooks's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Skellig Michael is stark and austere, a seemingly uninhabitable rock off the coast of Ireland where a monastery was established sometime between the sixth and eighth centuries. A lightly fictionalised version of that island is the setting for Haven, in which Emma Donoghue imagines the establishment of a monastery by just three men - Artt, a learned and strict priest, and two monks selected by him. Cormac is an older man who came to the monastery late in life after a colourful life blighted by personal losses, while Trian is a mere youth and more than a little awkward who was placed in the monastery by his parents when he was 13. Haven is a slow moving novel with little in the way of plot - plenty of details about killing birds for food, constructing buildings and a large cross with rock, and copying manuscripts. The real interest for me lay with the three men, seeing their personalities reveal themselves as they adapted to their spartan existence, witnessing their different understandings of their faith, and most especially seeing the relationships between the three play out. I especially enjoyed seeing Cormac and Trian support each other against the puritanical, sometimes cruel, and often impractical Artt. I also loved the atmosphere Donoghue brought to life on the page - claustrophobic, sometimes tense, isolated, unwelcoming, inhospitable, plus the feeling of always being judged and found lacking.
This won’t be a book for every reader and I did have some quibbles, including a gender related plot point that was introduced late in the novel but never fully developed. But, somewhat to my surprise, I’ve recently enjoyed a few quiet, literary historical novels centred around characters exploration and expression of faith - so long as they don’t strike me as prosletising. I can now add Haven to that list.
This won’t be a book for every reader and I did have some quibbles, including a gender related plot point that was introduced late in the novel but never fully developed. But, somewhat to my surprise, I’ve recently enjoyed a few quiet, literary historical novels centred around characters exploration and expression of faith - so long as they don’t strike me as prosletising. I can now add Haven to that list.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Religious bigotry, Animal death, Body shaming, and Emotional abuse
ceruleanseas's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Toxic friendship, Transphobia, Religious bigotry, Outing, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, Abandonment, and Body shaming
Moderate: Misogyny, Colonisation, and Classism
Minor: Blood
vireogirl's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This author is very good at finding perspectives I’ve never contemplated before.
Lots of birds mentioned.
Lots of birds mentioned.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Body shaming, Religious bigotry, Toxic relationship, Animal death, and Confinement
Moderate: Abandonment, Alcohol, Suicidal thoughts, Physical abuse, Excrement, Hate crime, and Outing
hannahrhian's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Excrement, Injury/Injury detail, Outing, Religious bigotry, Vomit, Animal death, Blood, and Emotional abuse
afion's review against another edition
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Religious bigotry, and Transphobia
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Excrement, and Vomit
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Homophobia, and Self harm
jesshindes's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Emma Donoghue is fast becoming one of my favourite writers: I read and loved 'The Wonder' last year and was excited to pick up 'Haven', which delivered on my high expectations. Donohue is a historical novelist who hops around period-wise (her newest novel is about Anne Lister's childhood, so early c19) - this book is set way back into the medieval past, in 7th century Ireland where three men (Artt, Cormac and Trian) set out to found a monastery on a remote island. Artt is a renowned scholar and Cormac and Trian, both humble monks, are initially honoured to attract his notice: but it doesn't take very long for some doubt to start setting in.
I just loved this book. Donohue has a gift for identifying intriguing situations - she talks in the afterword about visiting the West Coast of Ireland, where medieval monks absolutely did build monasteries in this kind of setting - and I particularly admire her ability to paint a detailed, realistic, but self-contained historical picture. Everything is focused and we stick close to the three monks for the whole book: from their beds in the monastery to the unfriendly, rocky landscape of Great Skellig, where they land their boat. Donoghue has an eye for landscape and I really enjoyed the richness and diversity of the wildlife the three encounter (it made me think a lot about how impoverished we are nowadays when it comes to other species). The birds who inhabit the island alongside them become a central part of the plot, as Trian in particular finds himself drawn to the creatures and Artt remains resolutely firm on the distinctions between the levels of God's creation.
Donoghue lets the story do the talking but the novel is great at demonstrating the strengths - and weaknesses - of its three central characters, the result of which is an understated, almost dry commentary on the nature of faith in a context where it underpins everything the characters do. All three of the men have faith in God (for their own reasons), but what about faith in other humans? Where is the limit to that? Where ought it to be?
I just loved this book. Donohue has a gift for identifying intriguing situations - she talks in the afterword about visiting the West Coast of Ireland, where medieval monks absolutely did build monasteries in this kind of setting - and I particularly admire her ability to paint a detailed, realistic, but self-contained historical picture. Everything is focused and we stick close to the three monks for the whole book: from their beds in the monastery to the unfriendly, rocky landscape of Great Skellig, where they land their boat. Donoghue has an eye for landscape and I really enjoyed the richness and diversity of the wildlife the three encounter (it made me think a lot about how impoverished we are nowadays when it comes to other species). The birds who inhabit the island alongside them become a central part of the plot, as Trian in particular finds himself drawn to the creatures and Artt remains resolutely firm on the distinctions between the levels of God's creation.
Donoghue lets the story do the talking but the novel is great at demonstrating the strengths - and weaknesses - of its three central characters, the result of which is an understated, almost dry commentary on the nature of faith in a context where it underpins everything the characters do. All three of the men have faith in God (for their own reasons), but what about faith in other humans? Where is the limit to that? Where ought it to be?
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail
bookedbymadeline's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
4.5
Only Donoghue can make me intrigued and devouring a character driven, intensely descriptive novel about three monks on an uninhabited island 😅 A fantastic novel that sucked me in- a tale of survival, faith, and religion. It was a slow start but by the third chapter (~35 pages) I was hooked!
I love Donoghue’s ability to tell stories and she’s one of my auto buy authors. Of the 3 books I’ve read so far from her, I’ve loved all of them! Donoghue does a great job of building this historical world, painting vivid imagery of the day to day survival of these monks.
The characters are well written, as we get a glimpse into all 3 of their thoughts, emotions, and motives. They each have their own distinct voices and I loved getting to know them and see them evolve throughout the course of the story!
I love Donoghue’s ability to tell stories and she’s one of my auto buy authors. Of the 3 books I’ve read so far from her, I’ve loved all of them! Donoghue does a great job of building this historical world, painting vivid imagery of the day to day survival of these monks.
The characters are well written, as we get a glimpse into all 3 of their thoughts, emotions, and motives. They each have their own distinct voices and I loved getting to know them and see them evolve throughout the course of the story!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Gore, Animal death, and Religious bigotry
Minor: Sexism and Transphobia
lenabrary's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Oh yes, the ending was exactly what I hoped for; so we're Cormac and Trian
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death and Animal cruelty
dystopia's review against another edition
adventurous
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death
Moderate: Body shaming, Medical content, and Religious bigotry