Description
Book SynopsisA story of survival set in 600 AD Ireland; a parable of patriarchy, destruction and religion at sea, by Emma Donoghue, the bestselling author of Room.
'Everything a novel should be: compassionate, unpredictable, and questioning. Haven is Donoghue at her strange, unsettling best.' - Maggie O'Farrell, author of Hamnet
In seventh-century Ireland, a priest has a dream telling him to leave the sinful world behind. Taking two monks with him, he travels down the Shannon in search of an isolated spot on which to found a new place of worship. 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. But in such a place, far from all other humanity, what will survival mean?
‘Haven is a beautiful, bold blaze of a book’ – Rachel Joyce, author of The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry
‘Beautiful and timely’ - Sarah Moss, author of Summerwater
‘Sinister, heart-wrenching and beautifully written’ – The Times
‘Combines pressure-cooker intensity and radical isolation, to stunning effect’ – Margaret Atwood via Twitter
‘Book of the Year’ pick in The Irish Times, The Guardian, The Irish Post, RTÉ and The Times.
Trade ReviewA remarkably engrossing tale * The Mail on Sunday *
This book kept me up half the night - I was unable to put it down, and read it in one spellbound gulp. It is everything a novel should be: compassionate, unpredictable, and questioning.
Haven is Donoghue at her strange, unsettling best. -- Maggie O'Farrell, author of
HamnetBrooding, dreamlike . . . it’s in descriptions of the physical world that Donoghue’s prose soars . . . Likewise, among themes that include isolation and devotion, its ecological warnings are its most resonant. * The Observer *
Quietly beautiful . . . And its subject, of course, is a universal one: we’re all stuck on this rock, trying to keep hold of simple moral truths while quietly losing our minds. As poor young Trian puts it, in one of his darkest moments: “Even this unbearable life is still sweet." * The Guardian *
Donoghue excels in creating not just a world but a worldview that is far removed from our own . . .
this is a bold, thoughtful novel. * Financial Times *
A beautiful and timely novel about isolation, passion and the conflict between obedience and self-preservation. The island setting and the characters stayed with me long after I finished reading -- Sarah Moss, author of
Ghostwall and
SummerwaterDonoghue wrings unlikely psychodrama from such everyday chores of monastic life as copying a manuscript or building a drystone wall. But if that doesn’t grab you, rest assured that
the devastating denouement amply repays the reader’s patience — and has a thing or two to say about modern-day moral panics, too * Daily Mail *
A powerful story, brilliantly imagined. * Clare Chambers, author of Small Pleasures *
Haven creates an eerie, meditative atmosphere that should resonate with anyone willing to think deeply about the blessings and costs of devoting one’s life to a transcendent cause. * The Washington Post *
In 7th C, Ireland, three men set sail to a bird-thick island to find God. EmmaDonoghue combines pressure-cooker intensity + radical isolation, to stunning effect. What is Divine Grace? Purity of soul? Virtue? Not what they think. --
Margaret Atwood via TwitterSinister, heart-wrenching and beautifully written. * The Times *
A grim and grisly tale of monastic privation and isolation in seventh-century Ireland . . .
[Donoghue] deftly captures the elemental nature of the relationship between her protagonists and the natural world; how it’s both their benefactor and their tormentor, a source of life, but also of death. -- Lucy Scholes * The Daily Telegraph *
Both a story about three men of God surviving with almost nothing on an island, and another about dictatorship, isolation, true fraternity, love, the nature of faith and man’s place in the natural world . . . It’s utterly brilliant. -- Rachel Joyce, author of
The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold FryWritten in an admirably plain and lucid style,
Haven is slow but ultimately moving in its revelation of friendhsip and human decency . . . * The Times *
A patient, thoughtful novel with much to say about spirituality, hope, and human failure, and about the miracle of mercy. -- Esi Edugyan, Booker-shortlisted author of
Washington BlackHaven is a gentle book, a fascinating exploration of human nature and an
immensely enjoyable read. * RTÉ *
Atmospheric and vividly told * Marie Claire *
