Reviews

Haven by Emma Donoghue

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kleonard's review against another edition

5.0

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.

heidihaverkamp's review against another edition

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4.0

Three monks in the 7th century begin a new community at Skellig Michael, a rocky island off the coast of Ireland. At first, the characters came off as flat religious stereotypes to me, then the language deepened and the theology of their inner thoughts became more nuanced (a lot of the book is these three characters thinking to themselves as try to survive with the island and each other). They felt familiar to me: the striving, visionary, perfectionist leader, the simple-but-wise and capable elder who prefers to work behind the scenes, the eager, teachable young adult seeker. There were monks living on Skellig Michael from the 600s to the 1200s or so - more than 1500 years ago. Donoghue did her research. Another fun book imagining life on Skellig Michael is Sun Dancing, by Geoffrey Moorhouse.

melanied01's review against another edition

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challenging reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

alicerosie's review against another edition

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adventurous reflective sad slow-paced

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

mcearl12's review against another edition

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4.0

My true rating would be between a 3 and a 4. Midway I’d have given a 3, but by the books end, I’m firmly at 4.

eshalliday's review against another edition

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5.0

The soaring fireball Emma Donoghue triumphs again! That’s a bit dramatic, but I'm in such awe of this book that praise is likely to overwhelm my review.

‘Haven’ is a novel that had me entranced from the very first paragraph. The Skelligs have a place in my heart and imagination, and to see Skellig Michael developed as the central location for a novel in 2022 is quite something. I know it had the spotlight trained on it following the Star Wars filming there, but it proves a dynamic and impressively rewarding site for plot setting in 'Haven'.

I read this novel over a few days spent travelling and it became quite an otherworldly experience. The setting is so mighty and the narrative so innovative – a certain while in the company of Irish monks in the 600s CE – that calling it to mind brings the ancient pilgrimage to Skellig Michael to life vividly, graphically.

And the characters! All three central characters are strikingly lifelike and animated. There is a compassion to her character creation that has defined Donoghue's published works. The mind boggles at how she is able to sound out voices so far removed from her own, and pen them with such authority and mastery. From an geriatric man in 'Akin', to a 19th-century French burlesque dancer in 'Frog Music', women on a maternity ward during the Great War and the ‘Flu pandemic in 'The Pull of the Stars', to name a few, and now monks in the seventh century? The array of viewpoints depicted in Donoghue's work is intoxicating, and her portrayal of diverse groups is always pitch-perfect. And that point should never be overlooked: Donoghue is amongst a select few authors who can be relied upon to treat representation with insight and sensitivity. And there's no difference here; each of the three central characters in 'Haven' emerge with discrete clarity and a true sense of independent voice built from experience. Readers surely will hate one, and love the others, or love just one and hate the other two. Each of them is striking, forcefully written.

The final movements of 'Haven' repay deep consideration. There is a lot to unpack when the narrative takes its electrifying turn and we accelerate with heartbreaking pace towards the impending conclusion of the novel. Without spoilers, I can say that the denouement pays rich and rewarding returns for whichever of the three characters the reader is championing. Each of the three are granted wonderfully powerful final punches by the author and the finale of the book is supremely, agonisingly poignant.

Emma Donoghue writes with such commanding energy that, whether or not I rate every book of hers that I read as a ‘favourite’, she is one of a handful of writers who’ve had a profound and lasting influence upon my reading style and preferences, and my faculty as a critical reader. The Donoghue novels that I’ve read have stayed with me, with great strength of endurance. ‘Landing’ and ‘Stir-Fry’ are two of my all-time favourite romantic novels (a genre I rarely touch!) and ‘Frog Music’ took my interest in historical fiction to a whole new level.

I can’t find a more appropriate term than ‘powerhouse’ for Emma Donoghue. Each Donoghue book I’ve read from her back catalogue of contemporary and historical fiction, lesbicentric and hibernocentric fiction - although I don't rate them all as five stars - has remained close to my heart. I might have found ‘Slammerkin’ difficult to get into, for instance, and ‘Kissing the Witch’ was slow for me. I failed to connect with the narratives in ‘The Woman Who Gave Birth to Rabbits’. But of course, some of these responses are likely due to my own mindset at the time of reading those novels.

'Haven', however, is one of my five-star reads. What higher commendation can I give a book than to say that I will savour re-reading this work many times. I will relish each sweet return to Skellig Michael in the company of Artt, Cormac and Trian. My greatest thanks to Pan Macmillan for an eARC through Netgalley.