Thanks to Netgalley and Picador for a copy of this book.

In 7th century Ireland, devout priest and scholar, Artt has a dream telling him to leave the sinful world behind. He takes with him tow monks, young Trian and  old Cormac. They row down the Sionnan (Shannon) in search of a remote island to found a new monastery; they discover an island that we now know as Skellig Michael.

Growing up in the South-west of Ireland myself, the incredible story of the monks and the harsh life they lived on Skellig Michael was something I grew up learning about, so I was very excited to read this.

If you're going into this book with zero prior knowledge of the history of Skellig Michael, Ireland, its mythology and the life of early Christian monks, know that Donoghue will not hold your hand, and researching along the way, may be beneficial to you.

This book is incredibly well researched  (I expected nothing less from Donoghue). I really enjoyed the references to  Irish mythology. A  slow paced story about 3 monks living in isolation could easily be boring, but with Donoghue's writing I found it very compelling and intriguing.

The ending was incredible.

This is a book that will stick with me.