RaveiNews (UK)Haynes gets us fully on Medusa’s side and we long for the outcome of the myth – in which Perseus beheads Medusa – to be averted ... With wit, humanity and extraordinary imagination, Haynes breathes life and meaning into myths as she has done so brilliantly before.
Emma Donoghue
RaveiNews (UK)... extraordinary ... Donoghue captures the divergence between goodness and holiness brilliantly in a character who is part horrible boss and part tyrannical captor ... While Haven does not shy from the punishing reality of life on Skellig Michael, there are moments of beauty and great humanity. The descriptions of the island’s nature are sublime, and Trian’s realisation of his own faith amid a paradise of wildlife is deeply moving ... Donoghue has created a monster in the unwavering Artt, although it is the timeless humanity and mercy of Cormac and Trian that blew me away time and again. I didn’t know quite what to expect from Haven but it wasn’t the satisfying and thought-provoking book that I read. Unforgiving in places, yes, but heavens it’s good.
