Dear friends and visitors, welcome to this week’s post! I had a strange kind of week in terms of reading, as you will see…

The first book that I chose was Gardens of the Moon (#01 Malazan Book of the Fallen) by Steven Eriksen. This appealed to me because I really love fantasy novels and I was really looking forward to beginning a nice exciting series. Well, I should have taken the advice of the author! In a very long foreword, he advises readers that the book has multiple characters, settings and story arcs. In fact he also warns that readers may find the beginning confusing and that if they haven’t got into the book by about a third of the way in, then the book might not be the right one for them.

Why didn’t I take that advice? Why?

I have real memory issues, as I have often written on this blog. I also struggle with concentration.

So, why did I try to read this book?

I did get about 65% through before taking a break (giving up). Anyway, I am going to leave it there because my brain felt totally scrambled by the time I stopped. Yes, there were great scenes and interesting characters, but… it was ALL TOO MUCH for my poor brain!!!

So… let us turn to the book that I did finish…

This time I chose something so completely different that it was also far beyond my usual fare: Haven by Emma Donoghue. This is the blurb:

“Around the year 600, three men vow to leave the world behind and set out in a small boat for an island their leader has seen in a dream, with only faith to guide them

In seventh-century Ireland, a scholar priest named Artt has a dream in which God tells him to leave the sinful world behind. With two monks–young Trian and old Cormac–he rows down the River Shannon in search of an isolated spot in which to found a monastery. Drifting out into the Atlantic, the three men find the impossibly steep, bare island known today as Skellig Michael. In such a place, what will survival mean?”

I read this very quickly and was most surprised by how much I enjoyed this strange book. This is my response on Goodreads:

Haven by Emma Donoghue
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book was a strange choice for me with a story about the lives of three monks living on a tiny remote island. Not at all the sort of thing that I usually read!

However, I found it strangely compelling. The daily struggles to survive in such a harsh place were really informative and interesting. I applaud the author’s depth of research on these matters. The relationships between the three monks were also well drawn as the harsh conditions began to affect them.

I imagine that readers who are religious may respond very differently to me. The fanaticism of the lead monk became more and more repellent as the book progressed.

All in all, I am glad that I decided to read this book and have already chosen another one by the author.

View all my reviews

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That makes it the third book that I have read by Emma Donoghue. I find her writing really intriguing as those three have all been so very different.

Happy Reading to you all!

Love and best wishes,

Anne

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