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The sense of isolation and the double-edged sword of obedience are strong in this novel. The sound of the waves comes through the writing. The pace is slow, and the interactions are frustrating as we follow the development of relationships through hardship. I appreciate the reflective nature of this novel even as I'm not sure I would recommend it except in specific circumstances.

Photo: Somewhere near Half Moon Bay, California, 2005.

4 ⭐️ Can‘t recall why I gave it the rating that I did. #2024 #historicalfiction #fiction #deweyreadathon

Seeing such mixed reviews, I slept on this one for a long time. But I‘m glad I finally went for it because I completely loved it. The plot is ‘things were bad and then they got worse‘ told through a fanatical prior and two monks in 600s Kerry.

If this book hadn‘t been my local reading group‘s choice, I would have abandoned it early on. The blurb didn‘t really appeal to me. It‘s well written but I found it incredibly boring and so slow. Nothing really happened until the twist at the end. I skimmed a lot of it - too much animal gutting, midden & cathedral building, praying and copying of the Bible for my liking! I wouldn‘t eat a turnip from their vegetable patch, that‘s for sure! 💩🤢.

Reading Haven with my local book club. The theme is a story set in Ireland. I‘m not sure a story about monks is quite my cup of tea but I‘m giving it a go. 🫤. The blurb doesn‘t appeal to me.

I did a good job at reading my own books this month! Just two from the library, the rest all came off my TBR.

Haven was the best of the month, but I also really liked My Year of Meats, Sea of Tranquility, We Carry Their Bones, and What Strange Paradise. I think they were all picks but one. (Sad Janet)

#ReadMyOwnDamnBooks

A well written historical fiction set in the 7th century. Three monks leave Ireland to find an island without any people so they can live without any negative worldly influence. Train and Cormac are very likable men. Artt is more unlikely to be by the two other monks. The island is covered with sea birds, which are used for foods, fire, down, feathers until they leave for the winter. Will they survive? Lots of rituals and ceremonies. 4/5 stars

We just got home from our walk and Sietje is out cold!

This got some mixed reviews, but I love ED, so I had high hopes and wasn‘t disappointed! It‘s historical fiction and while it‘s about 3 monks who sail off the coast of Ireland to find a small island to live in seclusion on, the star for me was the natural setting and Trian and Cormac‘s spirits. Artt on the other hand can take his megalomania right to “the bad place.”

Beautifully written.

Finished the March trilogy this morning and got Cutting for Stone completed this afternoon and am onto reading Haven for #deweysreadathon

Ten minutes in the library and no reading glasses 😱. Chose this on the strength of the cover and ED's name. Delighted to discover it was about 7th Century monks and the founding of what would become Skellig Michael. It's a suitably tight and tense story, with themes dismayingly relevant today👇. Artt is the sort of charismatic monomaniac the world never seems to be in short supply of. I wanted to shove him off a cliff, to spare Cormac and Trian.

This author is amazing. She seems to be on a historical fiction kick lately. Somehow she takes these super religious Irish Catholic settings and makes them sort of horrifying. In this, a trio of monks set off to build a monastery on a remote island. Tbh I mostly felt bad for the wildlife. But the zealot in charge is sort of astonishing. Definitely recommend this.

#BookSpinBingo @TheAromaofBooks

I know this one had some mixed reviews, but I found it thought provoking. Religious extremism, the effects of solitude, “othering” of people were all themes that resonate today. Perhaps the part I found most interesting is leaning on the idea of god‘s gifts as an excuse to pillage the environment. Parts of this book have very much stuck with me.

I‘m 30% in and I just can‘t anymore. It isn‘t pulling me at all. Maybe I‘ll just set it aside for later. I usually really love Emma Donoghue.

Thank you Cynthia for my #muglove package! I think this book sounds wonderful, I‘ve loved others by ED. The mug is so sweet and feels nice in my hands, it‘ll be great for warming them on chilly mornings. And these teas are perfect. Thank you!

Thanks to organizers @TheKidUpstairs and @Cinfhen !

I either like really recent historical fiction or way way in the past. Donoghue writes a quiet yet tense story about monks trying to establish a church on a rocky, uninhabited island in 9th c Ireland.

While the language wasn‘t as beautiful as Groff‘s Matrix, I loved these monks struggling against the harsh, barren conditions. She also showed each man struggling internally with his vows to God and the church and with the crazy father leading them.

Was not feeling my January #bookspin so off I go to find something else…no guilt, no hard feelings.

This was my first book by Donoghue, and I was impressed by the quiet, tense prose. It was well-matched to the story, which was a slow burn and ended beautifully. #ToB2023longlist

First book of 2023. I really liked it. Interesting narrative of early Christians - and how simple act is of kindness and love come from the humblest amoung us, and how our believes can blind us

This was such a good audiobook but really hard to review. The writing is excellent and lyrical like I‘ve come to expect from this author and the characters were really well developed. It‘s basically a character study of religious fervor/madness and what makes a good person: strict piety or empathy and resourcefulness. Very small setting and cast but big importance. 🌟🌟🌟🌟

In 7th century Ireland, two monks, Trian and Cormac, follow a charismatic visionary named Artt on his quest for an uninhabited island he saw in a dream. As Artt's faith blurs into hubris, his followers must depend on each other for survival as their presence depletes the scant resources of the island, a rocky skellig teeming with nesting birds. A masterful work of story-telling, quietly powerful and deeply moving, grounded in the details of life.

This might be my new favorite Donoghue. She is just so good! First, I really appreciate that she would even want to tell a quiet, slow-building (though intense) story like this. Tightly woven, atmospheric and incredibly thought-provoking. Devastating to see the human tendency towards the destruction of our natural world play out on this very small scale (those poor birds!), but she leaves you with such a satisfying ending (love old Cormac).

This is a strange book to review; the premise didn‘t sound like my thing at all; monks in 7th century Ireland who sequester themselves away on a remote, uninhabited island. However, I found it oddly compelling and kept picking it up over my other ongoing books.

It‘s slow and quietly troubling, and beautifully written. I can see though why some people wouldn‘t like it, as it‘s so unusual with a narrow focus and storyline.

#tob longlist

I loved this story! 5🌟

It‘s primarily character development of three very different persons and their relationships with one another & their God. It‘s about religious fanaticism, loyalty, friendship, obedience, survival, dignity, etc. All the big important stuff of human existence.

I am so impressed with the diversity of Donaghue‘s writing! She‘s an auto buy/read for me.

The narration is fantastic for the audio edition. 🎙️

Oh wow! Feeling spoilt, got home from work, sick cat and had to madly do my tax return. Such fun to remember that my #HHS package was waiting for me. Thanks so much @Lizpixie @wanderinglynn
#HHS2022

The writing was interesting, but I never wanted to pick it up.. I bailed at 35pgs. Maybe I‘ll visit it again another time.
Really trying to only stick with books that I want to keep picking up & don‘t want to put down, instead of forcing myself to barrel through.

Three monks set out on a canoe in search of an uncharted island where they can seek refuge from the sinful world and build a haven for those who wish to serve God and God alone. But what they pledge to create and uphold will prove more difficult than any would imagine. While the writing was evocative, this story was bleak and monotonous. This isn‘t a book I‘d easily recommend.

My first full day back home and I was craving my beloved toast salad… it‘s scrumptious 😋 still making my way through this audiobook- having just finished the Maggie O‘ Farrell ( review coming) and absolutely LOVING it, I‘m finding it harder to engage with this historical fiction by Emma Donoghue. Both books are richly atmospheric and heavily descriptive but the O‘Farrell was simply stunning.

Three monks, an island off the coast of Ireland…

A fast read/listen. A compelling story of three radical monks in Ireland that sequester themselves on a remote island. A testiment to the writing that this was such an engrossing read. 3.5 🌟

Could not get into this. I‘m just not a historical fiction fan. Would love to give it to someone who would enjoy it. Love to hear if and when anyone reading this does read it. I heard her on the radio and loved her book Room. So thought I‘d give this a go. Just not my thing .

A spare, quiet novel set in 7th-century Ireland, where a scholar & priest & self-styled saint takes two monks with him—young Trian & elderly Cormac—to set up a monastery in isolation after a dream that he takes as a sign to renounce the world. The book casts a slow but eerie spell. The natural world of the island, the suffering of the monks, & the increasing despotism of the priest brings to the surface questions of faith, fellowship, & existence.

Three Irish monks depart on a journey to find an austere island seen in the vision of one. As they try to make their way once they find it, their differing approaches start to show. I‘m not big on religion, so I hesitated about this one, but it‘s Emma Donoghue, so I figured she had something up her sleeve. I found this engrossing and the ending satisfying.

Queer, nature writing, survival story & historical fiction based on fact—three men start a monastery on a bird-inhabited rock in the sea off the west coast of Ireland in the year 600. What I appreciate most about this quiet novel is the way Donoghue explores attitudes towards women, human relationships with nature, power dynamics, and the questioning of religious faith. #ShadowGiller2022 #CanLit

Cormac knows all living things are simply part of God‘s creation, but birds still give him the odd shiver.

The wisest Church Fathers, and the ancients before them, all agree that a woman is a botched man, created only for childbearing.

He mutters a prayer in Latin: ‘Against the spells of druids and blacksmiths and women, I summon your aid.‘

This is not your typical historical fiction. It is a strange tale, that I warmed up to and ended up really liking. It is a story of survival but also slowly becomes one of a test of faith in God and the characters own judgement of right and wrong. While I have never been to Skellig Michael, I did visit the Skellig Experience Centre on the nearby mainland in Ireland and the actual history of the place, like this book, is fascinating. 4/5 stars.

Had a lovely lunch break today browsing books. I went to get a birthday gift for my niece, but you know how it goes. First stop was Half Price Books where I found the Rendell (inspired by @Cathythoughts recent posts) and the gently used copy of Nightcrawling for #Booker2022. Then grabbed the new Donoghue from our neighborhood indie. I love her and the premise is very appealing to me. 7th Century Ireland? A monastery? Yes and yes!
#bookhaul

I‘ll be terribly annoyed if I see this in the Giller Longlist. I was bored silly reading it. #ShadowGiller @Lindy

My new ARC

Started the day with a Goodreads win! 👌🏽

#NetGalley

Room by Emma Donoghue is a favorite of mine. Her other books have all had beautiful settings, great characters, but they've all just left me a little disappointed since Room.

This story of three monks who isolate themselves on an island explores just how far people are willing to go based on their faith alone. There's a big reveal at the end that felt out of place to the rest of the book too.