Reviews

Haven by Emma Donoghue

Only show reviews with written explanations

jo_crescent's review

adventurous challenging dark informative tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Learned a lot about life in a rocky island in 7th century Ireland … excellent character development & story telling. I recently read The Vaster Wilds … is there a primitive wilderness genre that I’ve just discovered I adore???

jbmorgan86's review

Go to review page

4.0

Synopsis: In the 7th c. Ireland, a zealous monk has a dream that he is to establish a new monastery on an island far from the mainland. He is to take a young monk and an old monk. The three men set out and arrive on a mountain-island (a “skellig”) that lacks everything except birds. The young and old monk struggle to survive as the Prior becomes increasingly authoritarian and severe in his discipline.

While that is the basic plot, the whole novel turns out to be about something else that isn’t revealed until the final pages. The final pages is what elevated this from a three star to a four star, for me.

mlannon's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging

3.0

ekane33's review

Go to review page

dark sad slow-paced

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

3.0

I didn’t enjoy this book and yet I can’t get it out of my head.
I think there was a great idea here that reads almost as a vignette of something larger that was left on the cutting room floor

davidb71's review

Go to review page

slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No

4.0

I thought this was terrific. It's not a crowd pleasing, event-filled blockbuster of a novel, and it won't be for everybody, but I thought Donoghue told the story in vivid and immersive detail, and as the story progressed I felt like I was on that inhospitable island with those men. It felt well-researched, and I was interested to read about the practical everyday details of the time (600AD), such as how people lived, travelled, hunted, cooked, etc. The resourcefulness of (two of) the main characters was constantly impressive to me. And as the story progressed I grew to really feel connected to, and genuinely like, two of the main characters. Some back story is given for each character, to flesh out their history a bit, and it was done with a lightness of touch that impressed me - it felt very well judged, not heavy handed or intrusive. As I was reading this book I was wondering how far Donoghue would take the story in terms of how heightened the drama would become - and I was surprised by how much restraint she showed - I think she judged it just right, and it's more powerful for it as far as I'm concerned. I think this is a subtle, literary, and maybe even somewhat slow book, and it might not be for everyone, but I thought it was a real treat.