Haven, of course, has lots to say about religious faith and it’s impossible to ignore the Haven/Heaven wordplay.

The first mention of Great Auks (extinct for almost 200 years now due to overhunting and changing environment) took my breath away. She shows that just three people trying to survive can lead to an overconsumption that is woefully out of balance with the environment. It’s a moment that speaks directly to 2022.ĭonoghue also uses her story to illustrate the impact of humans on natural environments. But towards the end of the book, there is an important revelation which leads Donoghue to ask us to consider the differences between choosing to isolate rather than being cast out. There was, obviously, an echo of the isolation many experienced during the pandemic, though this of course was far more extreme. What is it about this story from history that is interesting or relevant for current readers? For a while, reading Haven, I wasn’t sure as, like the monks, we were mired somewhat in the minutiae of daily survival. I always ask myself when reading historical fiction why the author chose to write this book now. That people were able to live there is a wonder and much of Donoghue’s book focusses on the very real and challenging details of staying alive. Thankfully, the internet provides.I highly recommend looking up photos as well as looking at satellite views of it to appreciate the remoteness, harshness, and beauty of the environment. Neither, in fact, was Emma Donoghue as a result of the pandemic. On a trip to Ireland a few years ago, we’d hoped to visit it but weren’t able to make it happen. Skellig Michael is a real place where there are the ruins of a monastery. Driven by strict adherence to his faith, he appreciates neither the need to secure the necessities of their survival nor the importance of showing respect for the natural world that they have entered.

Artt is blind to their skills and their faith. Trian meanwhile has a deep connection with nature both on land and in the sea and is handy with boats and fishhooks. Cormac brings wisdom and a knowledge of how to build and grow and cook. Artt is driven by his vision and his interpretations of the bible, and he drives the two monks, the young Trian and the elderly Cormac, to make this world according to his bidding. It’s somewhere around the year 600 when, based on a vision he has had, priest and scholar Artt takes two monks with him to found a monastery on the remote Skellig Michael, a rocky island off the western coast of Ireland inhabited by thousands of seabirds.

Haven review emma donoghue