The Haven: Book 1

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the setting lends itself vividly to this story of survival. Occurring during the 7th century on the steep, bare island of Skellig Michael (of Star Wars fame as Luke Skywalker's hideaway), I was entranced by Cormac's cleverness in creating unique ways to make-do, and I felt Trian's deep appreciation of nature; skellig michael is an imposing island. with harsh, jutting summits and steep, narrow paths, its an island that screams unforgiveness. and i just found this particular story to be a little too humble, a little too one-note to do the islands history and atmosphere justice. And nestled in the countryside is a monastery filled with the young and old who have dedicated their lives to God and the salvation of the souls of others. The abbot will grant permission for three of these monks to travel to the unknown seeking a place of solace and of a restorative nature. The crisis comes when Trian’s secret is out, and Cormac must decide between obedience and his own moral conscious, deciding if he is Artt’s man, or Christ’s. Please note, guests who have booked a Haven Hideaway holidaywill nothave access to pools, entertainment venues or activities during their break.

i do think the story itself is very interesting. i love a good survival plot, so i was looking forward to reading about three monks settling an inhabitable island in the name of god. i just wish there had been a greater sense adventure when it came to their actual island experience. Three monks set off from a monastery in southwest Ireland in a small boat for a destination that God has yet to reveal. They navigate the River Shannon and emerge into the North Atlantic, where the currents and wind drive them south of the Iveragh Peninsula. A heavy fog lifts and before them the jagged blade of Skellig Michael juts from the sea, alive with thousands of birds, mosses, and one rowan tree, but nothing else. It is 600 AD. Thrilling, chilling, disturbing and often frustrating exploration of the human spirit' - Calgary HeraldGuests that book a Haven break will receive a Play Pass giving them access to free entertainment and the opportunity to book free swimming slots and a selection of free and paid activities (subject to availability). Self-catering offers A guest arrives at an Irish monastery. His name is Artt and he is known as a blessed man and scholar. While visiting, he has a dream that he leaves this place with two of the brothers, one young one old, and they row on the river out to the sea and on south until they find an island, the right island, to found their community. He is granted his wish to follow this dream, ask these two brothers to pledge obedience to him and receives needed supplies. Artt will be the Prior with Cormac and Trian as the brothers who pledge fealty.

Expect a slow burn of a story. Emma Donoghue has obviously done massive research and the novel is fascinating in its recreation of an ancient time and a foreboding destination. Depending solely on God’s will, the three monks exist on a day-to-day basis on a land that offers little in food, drink, and shelter and how they manage to get by is fascinating to learn. After a vivid dream, Brother Artt confides to the Abbot that he must embark on this journey with the two monks that were in his dream; his companions are to be Cormac, an elderly monk who came to the abby and his vocation late in life after his wife and family were violently taken from him during the plague, a survivor of many tragedies but bascially one who was skilled in architecture and building as well as gardening. And the second monk was Trian, a young and gangly youthful man that had been dropped off to the monastary six years ago but had learned to adapt to his monastic surroundings. When Artt has a dream, a dream he is sure is a gift from above, a dream so real he can feel it and see it in his mind, he knows he has been chosen for a mission. This mission is so real to him, he requests a blessing of forming a sanctuary. Donoghue's prose glimmers with images of the pristine natural world ... As always, Donoghue extracts realistic emotions from characters interacting within close quarters and delicately explores the demands of faith. ... All lovers of thought-provoking literary fiction will be looking for this quietly dramatic tale.' - BooklistHaven was neither of these. It was about the men finding the island and then figuring out how to survive. The questions she poses are compelling: Does a didactic knowledge of the Bible and a vow of obedience and extreme sacrifice justify a holier-than-thou attitude? Is nature God’s holiest language and are its glorious beings, its birds and plants, our sisters and brothers? Or have we been truly awarded domination over all of it and if so, at what cost? Should monks be as humble as slaves, even when their own survival is severely threatened and every core of their being cries out against what is being demanded?

CW: There was a lot of bird hunting and killing, some of it graphic, which would have ruined the book for me even if I'd been enjoying it. (I wasn't.) The group of three becomes the first landing party on Skellig Michael off the coast of Southwest Ireland. Artt is much more concerned with setting up a chapel and copying scripture than he is with taking care of basic necessities, such as food, shelter, and fuel. He foolishly believes that God will provide everything. He also believes that future generations will forever bless the name of the mission's founder, holy Artt. Artt treats Trian and Cormac as his inferiors in all matters and punishes them if they question his authority. The two take their vow of obedience seriously, even when their survival is at risk.

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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 Three monks on a small craggy island off of Ireland many centuries ago (~600 A.D). One of them, Prior Artt, has a vision that he is destined to build a church away from society. In his dream he sees himself doing this with the aid of a young monk and an old monk. So he selects two from the monastery, and off they go in a crap-ass boat and eventually end up on an island. It’s not like Gilligan’s Island let me tell you. Trian and Cormac begin their journey in awe of Artt, who has travelled far beyond Ireland to bear witness to God's dominion and Christ's sacrifice. A personal note: This novel was inspired by a boat trip around the Skelligs in 2016. My plans to return and land on Skellig Michael in 2020 were derailed by what the monks would no doubt have taken in their stride as the latest pestilence to plague humankind, so I’ve never been there, except in spirit and imagination - the one form of travel that can’t be forbidden. He shares his dream, his vision of the three of them, himself, a young monk and an old one. Artt, Trian and Cormac. A trinity, if you will, of chosen men. Men chosen, not by him, but by God.

But like any Emma Donoghue novel – and I’ve read the last six of them – the suspense and the drama ignite, because the author’s desire is not to just tell, but to delve deeply and explore the human psyche.Haven is a slim novel of agonizing beauty and claustrophobic fanaticism. It tells the story of the charismatic, cruel Brother Artt, who is intent on establishing a remote monastery in the most difficult of conditions as proof of his piety; Brother Trian, an uncertain young man who was given up to the monastery by his impoverished family when he was a child; and the elderly Cormac, a skilled builder, farmer, and storyteller who became a monk after he lost his wife and children to the plague. and with the writing being as nice as it is and the characters so quiet, again, i just think the narrative is a little too meek for heart of the story. if i wasnt so interested in the particular history of the island, i probably would have been bored by it all. I was with an old monk, and a young one….an instruction to withdraw from the world…with two companions, find this island, and found a monastic retreat.’ Written in an admirably plain and lucid style, Haven is slow but ultimately moving in its revelation of friendship and human decency.' - Sunday Times