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Haven
- Narrated by: Aidan Kelly
- Length: 8 hrs and 34 mins
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Haven
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Summary
A story of survival set in 600 AD Ireland; a parable of patriarchy, destruction and religion at sea, by Emma Donoghue, the bestselling author of Room.
'Everything a novel should be: compassionate, unpredictable, and questioning. Haven is Donoghue at her strange, unsettling best.' - Maggie O'Farrell, author of Hamnet
Shortlisted for the Dublin Literary Award
In seventh-century Ireland, a priest has a dream telling him to leave the sinful world behind. Taking two monks with him, he travels down the Shannon in search of an isolated spot on which to found a new place of worship. 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. But in such a place, far from all other humanity, what will survival mean?
‘Haven is a beautiful, bold blaze of a book’ – Rachel Joyce, author of The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry
‘Beautiful and timely’ - Sarah Moss, author of Summerwater
‘Sinister, heart-wrenching and beautifully written’ – The Times
‘Combines pressure-cooker intensity and radical isolation, to stunning effect’ – Margaret Atwood via Twitter
‘Book of the Year’ pick in The Irish Times, The Guardian, The Irish Post, RTÉ and The Times.
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What listeners say about Haven
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Amazon Customer
- 19-12-22
remakable
gripping throughout enlightening and disturbing an insight into a lost world brought to life
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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- Monsaraz
- 09-12-22
The perils of following fanatics
Thought of giving up on this book early on - but glad I persisted. The exploration of living a life of devoted religious faith, and the extremes it might lead to, interested me. The two companion monks were warm and well drawn characters, and it was they who kept me going. I would have liked more exploration of Artt's inner life, motivation and the source of his faith in face of such extreme testing. The book's relevance to the modern world is clear - the perils of following fanatical leaders, of the meaningless rules and austerity imposed in the name of faith etc
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Anonymous User
- 07-10-22
A dark tale well told
A dark tale speckled with patches of light as humanity manages to shine through, like the rays of sun through the gaps in the clouds over the Skelligs. Well told and well read. The narrator’s voice fits the story perfectly.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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- Anonymous User
- 27-10-22
Beautifully written and well researched but..
The constant quoting of the bible to manipulate the monks wore me down. The actual island and the monks' plight kept me going..
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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- Amazon Customer
- 22-11-22
Unique to say the least but good....I think?
Firstly, what a bizarre story! 3 monks in the year 600ish row to a pretty much uninhabitable island with the intention of dedicating the island and themselves to God - for the rest of their lives.
It's a grim, brutal tale of the relentless efforts of the men to achieve their goal whilst trying to survive the harsh conditions with as little as possible. I gave up a few times to listen to other books as it was a tough story to 'experience'. Several times I found myself saying "why the heck am I still listening to this?! These bloomin' monks on an island!"
But I'm glad I persevered. Although I do feel like I lived on that island with them - so good was Emma Donohue's writing. By the end I was eager to see what became of them and I was satisfied with the outcome.
I've 'listened' to 2 of Emma Donogue's other books. The topics are always unique. My favourite by far was The Pull of The Stars.
A very interesting and talented author.
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- Wickham Woman
- 11-09-22
Mesmerising
An engrossing account of the efforts of the first three monks to endure life on the Skelligs and life with each other. I couldn’t put it down. Wonderful.
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- Marcos Simpson
- 14-09-22
tender. insightful. monstrous
an incredible story that teaches us so much about humanity
wonderfully performed. wonderfully written.
full of love
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- Katie Pointer HCA
- 10-04-24
A tale of abuse and betrayal
Begin with high expectations my poor monks, circumstance expectations and innocence will uncover an unknown unexplained and u expected experience
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- Randombags
- 21-08-22
Intense and thought provoking on many levels
I listened to this after reading a review in the Guardian. It is very thought provoking about many things including authority, human impact on the environment and the intensity of some relationships. I found it very moving and listened non-stop
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5 people found this helpful
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- sophie barnaby
- 23-10-22
Heavy, serious listening but brilliant
This is an amazing novel about 2 monks in 600AD who are chosen by an adored and charismatic leader to go and set up a monastery on an abandoned rocky island in the Atlantic. It is narrated perfectly in a sonorous tone which brings out the novel’s weighty language the heaviness of the characters and the landscape they are in. The novel is about the monks’ slow realisation that their leader is a religious fanatic who actually stands against everything that is holy. Highly recommend it and of course its themes resonate through the ages including today.
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1 person found this helpful