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dystopia's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Animal death
Moderate: Body shaming, Medical content, and Religious bigotry
azure_dreams's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
I was expecting more on the survival side, how they carved a life on their new island, rather than just constant sacrifice and discomfort.
Graphic: Animal death
kelly_e's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Author: Emma Donoghue
Genre: Historical Fiction
Rating: 4.0
Pub Date: August 23, 2022
T H R E E • W O R D S
Patient • Timely • Riveting
📖 S Y N O P S I S
In seventh-century Ireland, three men vow to leave the world behind. They set out in a small boat for an island their leader has seen in a dream, with only faith to guide them. What they find is the extraordinary island now known as Skellig Michael. The steep, rocky terrain and bare island is unforgiving, and the three must band together in order to survive.
💭 T H O U G H T S
Emma Donoghue is an auto-buy author for me, so it will be no surprise that Haven was one of my most anticipated reads of the year. If you'd have asked me if a book based in religion set in 600 AD would interest me, my first impulse would have been to say no. Yet, Donoghue has a way of taking the most uninteresting plot and making it shine.
The strength is in the evocative writing style and the vivid island atmosphere. This is a slow-moving narrative, where not a whole lot happens, yet I was captivated by the journey of these three characters. It is a story of faith and devotion, while also raising issues of gender, survival, and needs versus wants.
Haven was definitely not my favourite Emma Donoghue book, yet one of the reasons I love her writing is that each book is so different from the last. Don't let the synopsis keep you from picking up was is at its heart a story of isolation, spirituality and survival.
📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• Emma Donoghue devotees
• readers who enjoy isolated stories of survival
🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S
"To travel is to turn the pages of the great book of life."
Graphic: Religious bigotry, Emotional abuse, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Animal death, Blood, Homophobia, Physical abuse, and Body shaming
teresareads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Blood and Animal death
Moderate: Transphobia and Religious bigotry
tamara_joy's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.75
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Animal cruelty, and Animal death
Minor: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, and Body shaming
platypus1's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Moderate: Animal death
wordsofclover's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
I'm so disappointed to say this book just didn't really do it for me at all - I found this one a tough read to connect to, and feel engaged with. I normally love Emma Donoghue's writing and I really loved how she used this story to not only travel way back into Irish history but explore religious fervor and idolatry, isolation and survival. But I think the story itself, and some of the characters just really left me wanting - I'm not a religious person but grew up going to church like many an Irish child, and I have religious family members but the religious sacraments and rituals in this left me feeling a bit bored, and while I enjoyed the different characters in the three monks, I also feel like we never really got to know them either.
My favourite character was probably Cormac, a quiet, older man who came to the religious life very late having lost a wife and children, and almost dying in various Clan battles. From his stories that all linked into Irish mythology to the tender way he looked after Trian, and eventually standing up to Artt's ridiculous ways, he was my stand up guy in this.
I found Artt very hard to read at times as he went from okay, to bad to worse. There's nothing I hate more than men heavy with religious pride using the 'god will provide' and 'look what god gave us' when it's actually just hard work that results in progress. It's kind of like the 7th century version of manifesting. I ended up becoming really angry and frustrated at Artt for all the other men, and religious people, who have acted in similar ways and think they are always right.
Trian was a lovely character and while I was convinced he may have been a woman in disguise for a large portion of the book, I'm not sure what we were suppose to do with the (view spoiler). It was really just used as a catalyst for Artt's nastiness to come out and Cormac finally standing up to him and that was it. I would have liked more exploration and discussion around the topic and possibly have it more clear but I'm not really sure what to think to be honest.
Also on a side note, for some reason I found the slaughter of the birds and chicks really hard to stomach in this one. I think because they had been left in peace for so long and suddenly these horrible men come and literally rob the babies from the nests, it was a tough one for me.
The writing in this was good like I would expect from this author. It just wasn't one for me unfortunately.
Minor: Animal death
rosiecockshutt's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Haven got me get invested before giving me absolute heart palpitations!
Definitely check trigger warnings for this one, especially anything regarding religion.
And all of that’s not even getting into the brilliance of Donoghue’s characters. From how we first meet them to the way we last see them, it’s a seamless but astonishing transition for each and every one of them. Amazing!
Graphic: Physical abuse, Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Emotional abuse
kaitsteak's review
- 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
2.5
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Medical trauma and Homophobia
redwrapped's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Confinement, Emotional abuse, Medical content, Outing, Animal death, Gaslighting, Religious bigotry, Abandonment, and Self harm