This is a story of 3, 7th century Irish monks, setting sail to find an uninhabited island to build a monument and dedicate their lives to god. It is slow paced but from the beginning, What they accomplish and how is fascinating and the fellowship that develops between the older and younger monk is touching. The monks survive on the birds that inhabit the island, they build cisterns, religious structures and more. They are hard working and obedient to their Prior. The author builds the tension slowly. The ending was inevitable. it would have helped the book if the author moved it along a little faster. Since I don't want to add any spoilers, I need to leave much out of this review.

This was a true boiling frog novel, in the best way possible. I loved what it was and how it was written at the beginning, and also at the end, but they had two very separate vibes! Personally I really prefer this style of tension buildup to books that are just high anxiety from page one -
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!

Having read Room I was interested in reading Emma Donoghue’s newest book, Haven. This book was about three monks that set off the coast of Ireland in search of an island to build a monastery in the 7th century.

This book was probably about as exciting as it sounds. It was slow and repetitive. I found it to be mocking of religion and faith, which in turn just makes it dreary and depressing. There is not a whole lot of action as most of it is travel and survival skills.

I can’t say I hated it because it is definitely transformative. The whole point of reading is to entertain another world and imagining the life of a monk in this setting was enough to keep me engaged. But overall, I can’t imagine many people that would be terribly interested in this story.

Thank you to NetGalley and Little Brown and Company for an ARC of this book.

Ugh. I never give 1-star ratings. But this was just so brutally slow and boring and painful to read, I don't feel like I have any other choice. It took me 2 months to slog through it, and this was mainly because I loathe DNRs. But I was close with this one. I knew this could be a difficult book for me - it's definitely not a typical subject matter that interests me, but I have enjoyed Emma Donoghue before; The Wonder was another one that wasn't typical for me and I really liked that one, so I gave this one a shot. Unfortunately, it was just a colossal failure. Again, slow, boring, pretentious. Characters that were never anything more than words on a page. I found nothing in this book to interest me, or make me want to like it. Hell, I struggled to find something to make me want to READ it. I won't give up on this author; I still enjoy her books and her writing. Just not this one.

*Thank you to NetGalley and Little, Brown, and Company for sharing this digital reviewer copy in exchange for an honest opinion.*

Historical fiction is not my go-to genre however, on occasion I read novels with a premise that intrigues me. Haven is one of those novels.

Given Emma Donoghue's gift for writing and while this is beautifully written, it lacks momentum. It is slow and never hits the right rhythm. It was difficult to establish a connection with any of the three main characters. It is a deeply spiritual journey for these characters but the execution lacked.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an arc of this novel. I have read some of Emma Donoghue’s work and I wanted to read this one to continue my journey of reading all of this author’s work.

This is a story of three religious monks, in 7th century Ireland, on a journey to discover an island to build a safe place away from the sins of the world.
And that is basically it….oh and birds.. lots and lots of birds!

This book was so well written and in theory easy to follow, but man was the boring. Very character driven.
I want this book to find it’s readers because I really think there will be some people who find this work amazing.

2 stars.

Haven is a marvel of a book, and it's helped me sort through a topic that's been on my mind lately: slow reads. The last three books I've read, including Haven, have all been slow reads, but with Haven that pace is essential to the nature of the book. With the other two, the slow pace accomplished little more than separating the reader from the narrative. So I want to argue that Haven proves the point that slow reads, like most things in life, can be good, bad, or in between. And with Haven, that slow read is a blessing.

The premise underlying this historical novel is straightforward and summarized aptly in the promotional material for the book: "In seventh-century Ireland, a scholar and priest called Artt has a dream telling him to leave the sinful world behind. Taking two monks—young Trian and old Cormac—he rows down the river Shannon in search of an isolated spot on which to found a monastery. Drifting out into the Atlantic, the three men find an impossibly steep, bare island inhabited by tens of thousands of birds, and claim it for God." That's the fast version of the plot, but it doesn't begin to embrace all the novel includes.

Take a moment to think about that plot line. It's slow. It has to be slow. Slow like the journey down a major river in a watertight, but difficult to manoeuvre boat. Slow like the increasing slowness with which that boat travels on the open sea, hidden for days at a time in a fog that obscures the actual journey from those journeying. Slow like the process of finding a livable space on a rocky island with almost no topsoil, with a single tree, with thousands and thousands of birds—more birds than any of our characters could even have imagined.

Now, think about the last few words of the promo material I quoted above: "and claim it for God." Haven becomes a novel not just about an arduous journey, but also about the kinds of actions humans commit when they believe they're being directed by God. Nothing exists except that it has been created for ultimate use by man (I deliberately use the male pronoun here, given the time in which the novel is placed). Birds, their nests and eggs and young, trees, rocks, seaweeds and land weeds, air and water don't exist in their own right. They exist because at some point man will decide they are useful *things* and will treat them like things—with the kind of results one might predict.

So, yes, Haven is a slow read, but that slowness is essential: first, to the narrative, and second, to the reader's experience of that narrative. In Haven, destructive choices aren't made in a single moment; destruction doesn't happen suddenly; destruction of land and soul is a slow, slow, cumulative process.

If you have the patience to for a book that asks you to spend extended time inching forward, if you appreciate the opportunity to consider each of those inch-sized moments thoroughly and thoughtfully, Haven will provide an excellent, if sometimes heart-breaking, read. It will leave you simultaneously crushed, cynical, and hopeful. That mix of crush, cynicism, and hope is as real in our own times as it was in the 7th Century, and we need to examine that reality in detail and at length.

I received a free electronic review copy of this title from the publisher via NetGalley; the opinions are my own.

I always look forward to Emma Donoghue and her writing. Haven was no exception. Although not my favorite of hers, this was such an intriguing story of three Irish monks setting out to find the perfect place for their monastery. This was quite a feat in the seventh century. At times intense, this was really a tale of survival and three very interesting characters. Setting out in a small boat with only the necessary provisions. And landing on an uninhabited mountain in the middle of the ocean. And believing that God will provide for their survival. Was this naive or the ultimate sacrifice??
Thank you to Net Galley for an advance copy.

Although I think this author writes beautifully, this story just didn't draw me in. It felt excruciatingly slow and the plot lacks tension. I couldn't connect with any of the characters, and overall I found reading this book to be a rather frustrating experience.

Donoghue grew up in Ireland but has made her home in Canada. She is the author of many bestsellers including "Room" and "The Pull of the Stars". This new release is set in Ireland around the year 600. It tells the tale of three monks who set out to leave the civilized and sinful world behind. They find themselves settling on Skellig Michael off the coast of Ireland, a rocky inhospitable place. The island was actually used by monks around this time, although these characters are totally fictional. Readers might recognize it as the filming location for parts of two recent Star Wars movies. This is a story of survival, faith and how far to take blind obedience. It is not necessarily going to appeal to all historical fiction readers, but for those interested in something a little different, it is a fascinating and thought provoking read.

This was completely unlike what I was expecting or hoping for. The book was very slow to get into and honestly, it struggled to hold my attention. Donoghue's writing was good, but this story wasn't for me. *Advance copy provided by the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

Creating a 7th century novel with only 3 characters who live on a tiny rock of an island is a miracle of talent, insight into human behavior, and imagination. Based on some fact, the author allows us to examine our human need to interact with nature and others, to creatively survive with very little, to think about religious faith when it excludes reason, and, perhaps most importantly, to accept one another as we are, not as we want others to be. Character development and location descriptions are exceptional.

Thanks to NetGalley and Little, Brown and Company for the ARC to read and review.

When a respected priest decides to found a monastery away from the temptations of other humans he is able to draw two other monks with him. They depart down the river Shannon to the ocean to find a previously uninhabited island upon which to start their ministry. Their new Prior is quite devout and feels like the saints, they should deny earthly things and therefore bring scant supplies on which to survive. Quickly their island paradise becomes a challenging place to survive. Over and over, the Prior chooses godly works, like copying the Bible over fundamental survival tasks like finding food sources and shelter. He reminds his companions that God will provide for them, and he does, but not in a way that brings them comfort or security in survival. This quickly causes unrest.

I'm not sure this book is for everyone. It is well written but there is very little action and a lot of specific detail about the technology of the seventh century and what survival on a remote island would look like. I enjoyed those aspects but certainly found this to be a quieter, more contemplative novel. I also think you need to have some interest in early Christian religion, the Prior of this group is written to get us to debate what is true faith, what crosses the line to fundamentalism and perhaps even when one might actually be mad. Haven is definitely a story about the truths of what it is to be human, what it is to have true faith and how easily one is steered off course.

Thanks to Little, Brown and Company via Netgalley for advanced access to this novel. All opinions above are my own.

I really love Emma and was looking forward to this read.
It fell a little flat for me and it was difficult for me to get into. It was bogged down and slow and didn't feel like her usual style. Even the big reveal about one of the characters seemed to be in the wrong place plot line wise.
It was a quick read, but not one of my favorites.

Thanks to NetGalley and Little, Brown & Company for an egalley in exchange for an honest review.

For fans of Matrix and books set in Ireland, Haven provides a unique story and setting for readers interested in learning more about early monks in Ireland. This novel has so many things going for it - it's a survival story with beautiful nature writing and interesting characters, but something about it just didn't fully click for me. It's extremely, extremely slow with very little plot. It feels foreboding and treacherous, yet there is not enough payoff for the mounds of tedious descriptions of daily activities you have to get through to make it to the end.

I liked some parts of this, but not enough to redeem the slow, meandering story. It would be worth reading for those with a particular interest in Irish history.

I hope to revisit this story again in the future, but for now, I had to put it down around 15% completed. I struggled quite a bit with understanding (which was definitely a me problem and not a writing problem) and think I might enjoy the story more on audio where I could focus better on the story being told.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I'm confident that Emma Donoghue could write a shopping list and it would be amazing.

HAVEN is a bit different than what readers might know her for in recent years (Room, The Pull of the Stars). But it offers such a delicious bite of reading that they'll devour it all the same. I don't even have anything negative to say. If her writing was a sugar scrub, my skin would be raw. I just want to live in her prose.

Donoghue is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors. Well done.

DNF’d way later than I should have.

This book is its own form of torture. I blame myself for thinking this was going to go any other way than bad - it’s on me really. It’s about 3 celibate Christian monks who go on a mission because this one guy with a Godly complex has decided that they need to get on a boat and go to a random island because of a vision. No plan, arguably contributes no physical effort towards getting there. Other than all the times they have to stop and do some prayer - completely inefficient and there’s no way Christopher Columbus would’ve made it to the Caribbean if they had stopped as many times as they did. Nothing like a little Christian guilt to demand obedience.

At the end of it all, this book is not for me. I was constantly rolling my eyes over Artt’s cult like behavior.

DNF at 30%. I tried really hard to get in to this one but unfortunately it just didn’t hold my interest. I believe there is an audience for this book, sadly it isn’t me. Thank you so much Netgalley for the opportunity to read this early in exchange for an honest review.

CW: religious trauma, animal death and cruelty to LGBTQIA character

Set on Skellig Michael, the book follows three monks in the 7th century as they withdraw from society to form a life of prayer on the skellig. Cormac and Trian are monks who are voluntold to leave with Artt, a cult-leader-wannabe to live on a remote island with little-to-no resources. Predictably, this causes hardship.

Cormac and Trian are thoughtful, well-constructed characters and I enjoyed the parts of the novel where we watch their attempts to make the island their home. I got a good sense of these characters and their motivations. The parts of the novel that center these characters really shine.

Artt is decidedly less of a well-rounded character. He seemed to be almost an archetype of religious mania, and I wish that we as readers got a better sense of his internal motivation.

Another issue I took with the book was the INTENSE amount of animal slaughter in the book. I understand it’s a survival story, but the killing seemed gratuitous.