Wow, this book is brutal. I thought it was very well done, but it’s not for the faint of heart. It’s not just about religious fanaticism, it’s really a cult, where the followers have promised absolute obedience, the leader has literally cut them off from the outside world, and there is absolutely no check on his power. But it’s also an intriguing imagining of how Skellig Michael was originally settled. How DID they get water, fuel? What did they eat, how did they manage to grow anything in that rocky soil? ( )

A reconstruction of the settlement of Skellig Michael by monks. But the end is different. A tremendous amount of research into the life of monks and people in general at this period.

Ask me if I'll go with you to cultivate a desert island with just two friends, and I'll look at you like you're crazy and answer with a very clear "no."

Arrt, the monk who unexpectedly visits the monastery of Cluan Mhic Nois presents such a request to the abbot of the monastery, and, to say the least, tolerates no contradiction. Besides, he saw it in a dream, a vision.

What follows is an incredible story about him and his 2 companions searching for an island that will serve as their new sanctuary. An island that they find, but in all respects it looks more like a bird sanctuary with mainly stone and many, many nests, cries of petrels, cormorants, seagulls and other species, and especially a lot of bird droppings.

Arrt who appoints himself Prior demands unconditional obedience, whether it concerns the journey, the housing, the food, the copying of the Psalter.

While the two monks with him constantly have doubts, they do not dare to express this. Their "prior" probably knows better, and besides, he was sent by God after all.

The story is breathtaking: the characters of the monks, the life of the birds, the sound of the sea, everything comes to life on every page, and slowly the reader is taken to a climax that you did and did not see coming. You can't do anything else than what the young and old monks do in this book: wonder about everything, be amazed by the unexpected demands of the prior, and wait silently and meekly where all this will end. ( )

The story opens in a monastary in the Irish midlands. The abbot is a self-aggrandizing leader seemingly more interested in promoting his status than providing a spiritual setting. The monastery is visited by Artt, a monk of notable learning and reputation. Artt has a vision to establish an isolated sanctuary where he can worship God without the distractions of the world. In a dream he identifies two of the monastery's friars to accompany him: Cormac, an older man only in the priesthood for about a decade and Trian, a young man who was left by his parents at the abbey's doorstep.

They travel down the Shannon to the open sea where off the coast of the mainland they find the Skelling Islands, uninhabited and remote with almost no arable land populated by tens of thousands of birds. Artt deterimines that this is the place where his dream will be realized. Cormac has practical skills which helps them sustain themselves. Artt is less interested in a sustainable way of life than immersing the trio in worship. Despite the imperative of finding ways to shelter themselves and secure food, Artt orders Cormac to build a chapel with the stones on the island. Trian tries to secure food by trapping birds and fishing with scant success. Artt presses Trian into transcribing a manuscript of a Greek bible, a task for which the young man is ill-suited because he is left-handed. Artt becomes increasingly stern, demanding complete obedience from his two colleagues, pushing Trian to spend hours copying. He forbids them to take basic measures to ameliorate their living conditions, such as building rudimentary shelters. While they are aware of and wish to honor their vows of obedience, they experience growing doubts as their survival becomes more perilous. Artt is increasingly fanatical in his pursuit of holiness and in his expectations for their commitment to his demands.

Trian has a secret he takes pains to hide. After he becomes quite ill and needs Artt and Cormac to care for him, they discover that Trian is a hermaphrodite, the reason that his parents abandoned him to the abbey. Just as his parents forsake him, Artt rejects and shuns the boy, the very opposite of Christian compassion. Cormac shows sympathy and kindness to Trian. Ultimately, the conditions on the island, and Artt's increasingly oppressive treatment, drive the two friars to abandon the island.

The story shows how ideals and commitment to a principled way of life can morph into obsession. Artt's vision of surrendering himself completely to the worship of God leads him to cruelty and ill treatment of his accolytes.

The monastary on the Skellings is a real place. Founded in the 6th century, it is known today for its beehive shaped huts where monks lived in isolation from the world. Today it is a world heritage site that can be visited by ferrying from the mainland. I have seen the islands from the land but not been there. ( )

Haven is a fascinating and immersive story. I really enjoyed the characters and relationship between them. It’s been a long time since I’ve been so emotionally involved in a historical fiction, but the plot moved a little too slowly for me to increase to 4 stars. ( )