The Haven: Book 1

Product Information

Haven by Emma Donoghue was an irresistable and atomospheric novel set in the seventh century southwestern medieval Ireland off the coast of County Kerry. There two jagged islands are seen, the larger Skellig Michael with monks living there since 1044. And this a remarkable tale of three monks who first embark to the island led by a larger-than-life charasmatic leader and a scholar and a priest, Brother Artt. There is a lot of symbolism in this book first represented by the three monks, as in the the trinity. And such an integral part of this story is Ireland's history of early monastic settlements as evidenced by the beautiful Book of Kells housed in Trinity College in Dublin. Artt was legendary as a living saint, a holy man of great learning and experience of the world. He dreamed of escaping the society of fallen men, monks who wore embroidered clothing and feasted on roast swan and wine. In his dream he leaves Hibernia with two monks: Cormac, aging and skilled, and Trian, young and naïve. Artt believes that God will lead them to an uninhabited island where they can dedicate their lives to holy living. The pious Cormac and Trian agree to follow and obey Artt as their Prior. Haven Hideaway holidays give our guests the chance to escape to the great British coast at a pace that suits them.​ Use your Haven accommodation as a base to enjoy the local area to its fullest - enjoy local walks and explore nearby towns, villages and attractions. In fulfilment of his vision, Artt settles upon an unlikely pair of missionaries. Cormac is well past his prime, a grizzled brawler who found Christ only after a plague claimed his family and a rival clan his patch of land. Trian, meanwhile, is a mere youth, “ungainly and odd” by his own rueful admission. Neither is much of a true believer, but both are sufficiently awed to accept their new calling without a murmur. It helps, too, that they have little notion of just what that calling will entail. A tremendously real imagining of the experiences of the first three people to land on Skellig Michael in about AD 600 ... if the setting is centuries ago, the themes feel ultra-modern. ... her skilled character creation adds vibrancy. Artt the zealot, Cormac the sage and young outsider Trian make for a winning trinity.' - Irish Times

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.’ Your favourite DVDs. (A DVD player is included in the following accommodation: Caravans: Silver, Gold, Signature. Lodges: Emerald, Diamond, Signature. Chalets: Comfort Plus. Apartments: Comfort with Veranda)

Connect Everytime

Please note, guests who have booked a Haven Hideaway holidaywill nothave access to pools, entertainment venues or activities during their break. Brilliantly realized, utterly transporting ... Donoghue’s detailing of the island’s rugged geography and the methodical subsistence work of its dogged new stewards is masterful, almost hypnotic, but it’s the author’s quietly devastating depiction of the conflict between faith and survival, obedience and self-preservation, that powers this extraordinary novel.’ - lithub.com (starred review)

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. Get settled in, take a good look around and rate the cleanliness of your holiday home on the My Haven Experience app* or via haven.com/experience What a beautiful, intense, blazing, richly-woven yet spartan and unsparing book this is. I couldn’t put it down. Lyrical and then visceral, appearing at one moment tranquil and another so intense it’s like being bitten and clawed.' - Rachel Joyce 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. Before you start your journey, use the My Haven app* or log in to haven.com/experience to view and save your personalised map to navigate to your holiday home on park.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. Your Haven holiday includes accommodation, restaurants, takeaways and arcades, as well as a Play Pass which allows you entry to our entertainment venues and pools, as well as theability to book activities. Thank you to Hachette Audio, Little, Brown & Company, and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own. Six years Trian has been there, living among the monks when he is called upon to ferry this man, Artt, he’d only met the day before. Artt with the ’bearing of a warrior king’ who carries himself as though he is in a constant state of pious appeal. A man who, as a child, sought out a life of divinity at the tender age of seven, and continued to reach for higher understanding until he had outgrown each of the holy men who had shared their wisdom, and traveled throughout Ireland sharing the Gospel on this ’pagan-gripped continent’converting several tribes along the way.

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.' - Booklist Prior Artt is a zealot. No doubt many people like him existed. I just wouldn’t want to be under his supervision. You can also book tables whilst on holiday and there is no need to book outdoor dining, simply turn up and we’ll do our best to get you seated He swears the other two monks, a young man and an older one, to obedience and off they go in a tiny boat in search of their new home. They take few supplies because their boat is so small, and because Aart believes "God" will supply them with all they need.

Supplying books to prisoners since 1996

Donoghue's characterizations of the three men, her vivid imagining of the measures they must take to survive, and her beautiful descriptions of the landscape and wildlife — puffins galore — make this book readable even for those who don't care much about medieval Christianity ... Donoghue is good at endings, as readers of "Room" know, and here again she metes out narrative justice with a firm hand.' - Star Tribune as I was reading, my mind came up with several possible scenarios as to how this story could end, including the one the author chose. Actually, any one of them would have been satisfying to me! 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. Thrilling, chilling, disturbing and often frustrating exploration of the human spirit' - Calgary Herald

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. In short, very few readers have been praying for a novel like this. But “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. Donoghue has designed her novel to be one of human observation. In the preparation itself, we notice how each monk insists on taking the bare minimum aboard the small boat. Vital items are cast aside as extravagance. And such sacrifice will jeopardize the advancement of this undertaking. 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.

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 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. Trian is the youngest and has been at the monastery since he was thirteen. Always hungry and always clumsy, Trian is the first to volunteer. Cormac has been a convert for fifteen years since the death of his wife and children from the plague. He suffered with the illness but was spared. And Artt is the elusive stranger, scholar, priest who will become their Prior. The author provides some history in a note at the end which relates that the island of Greater Skellig of this novel has been known as Skellig Michael since before 1044.