Description

The highly anticipated novel from the internationally bestselling author of The Pull of the Stars and Room

‘This is Donoghue at her strange, unsettling best.’ – Maggie O’Farrell, author of Hamnet
‘Combines pressure-cooker intensity and radical isolation, to stunning effect.’ – Margaret Atwood via Twitter

In seventh-century Ireland, a scholar and priest called Artt has a dream telling him to leave the sinful world behind. Taking two monks – young Trian and old Cormac – he travels down the river Shannon in search of an isolated spot on which to found a monastery. Drifting out into the Atlantic, the three men find an impossibly steep, bare island inhabited by tens of thousands of birds, and claim it for God. Their extraordinary landing spot is now known as Skellig Michael. But in such a place, far from all other humanity, what will survival mean?

Haunting, moving and vividly told, Haven displays Emma Donoghue’s trademark world-building and psychological intensity – but this tale is like nothing she has ever written before . . .

One of The Times Books of the Year 2022
One of Easons ‘Favourite Book of the Year 2022’.
The Irish Times ‘Books to Look Out For in 2022’.

Pre-order Learned by Heart, the dazzling new love story from Emma Donoghue.

Publisher Review

Haven is 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, author of Ghostwall and Summerwater Told with the clarity of a fable, Haven transports us into territories unknown, where 'fog makes an island of every man.' Donoghue's men of the cloth confront challenges that rattle not only their faith in God, but their faith in each other and in the natural world. This is a patient, thoughtful novel with much to say about spirituality, hope, and human failure, and about the miracle of mercy. -- Esi Edugyan, Booker-shortlisted author of Washington Black In 7th C, Ireland, three men set sail to a bird-thick island to find God. EmmaDonoghue combines pressure-cooker intensity + radical isolation, to stunning effect. What is Divine Grace? Purity of soul? Virtue? Not what they think. -- Margaret Atwood via Twitter