A review by heidihaverkamp
Haven by Emma Donoghue

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.