Haven by Emma Donoghue

Scholar, priest, hermit, sage, soldier for Christ – these are all words used to describe Artt, the stranger who comes to a monastery in seventh century Ireland, seeking two followers to accompany him on a pilgrimage to found a monastic retreat on an island far from all the temptations of the world. It is a vision that came to him in a dream, and his two companions are to be the old hardworking monk Cormac, and the gangly young Trian. Cormac has skills in building, gardening and repairs; Trian is earnest and self-sacrificing, perhaps more clever than he appears; but Artt is most definitely the leader, the holy guide whose authority is never to be questioned.

Emma Donoghue is renowned for the book and film, Room (2010), the story of a boy and his mother held captive since a teenager by a child abductor. In Haven, Cormac and Trian are equally captive, beholden to the laws of their religion, and prisoners to the interpretation of those laws as provided by Artt, with his creed of abstinence, suffering and penances. The three are trapped together in a harsh unforgiving environment on a rocky almost uninhabitable island that sears upwards towards the sky.

The reader is privy to the unexpressed thoughts and questions that come to the minds of the two monks, trying to marry their observations and ideas with the pronouncements by Artt. It is once again a battle of science and religion, of questioning and wondering versus unwavering belief and fanatical faith; similar to the battle undertaken by Lib in Donoghue’s 19th century story of The wonder (2016) about a nurse trying to unravel the truth of the miraculous ‘fasting girl’.

In Haven, we explore the complexities of science and religion through the central characters, all brilliantly depicted and unforgettable. Trian has an inventive intelligence, and a natural infinity with nature, the world that God created; Cormac is honest, hardworking, a man of commonsense and compassion; while Artt is a driven visionary, unflinching in his righteousness. The novel raises questions about virtue, true values, and the fellowship of men. The conclusion is uplifting and a joy to the heart, yet still remains true to its depiction of each of the men. This is an unusual story that will remain in the mind long after the last pages.

Themes: Historical fiction, Ireland, Religion, Zealotry, Faith, Obedience, Isolation, Suffering.

Helen Eddy