The Island of Missing Trees: A Novel

The Island of Missing Trees is painful and beautiful at the same time. The fig tree’s point of view is incredibly original — tender, wise, and haunting. It adds a layer of magic that deepens the human story rather than distracting from it. This novel stayed with me. Definitely worth a read.

I never thought I would enjoy a story of how trees view humanity with our foibles, squabbles, quarrels, wars, hatreds, loves…. But this was amazing. Part historical novel about the partition of Cyprus and the violence around that, part coming of age story in a time of grief, part nature study about trees and fauna and how intertwined they are with our culture and existence, this book was an exploration of what it means to be a survivor that bears the marks of past trauma and what it means to keep moving forward. This novel focuses on the love story of Kostas and Defne, star-crossed Greek and Turkish Cypriot lovers whose devotion to each other is tested by the violent conflict that emerges in 1974. Despite their commitment to putting the past behind them and moving forward, years later, their teen daughter Ada’s breakdown in the middle of a history class brings past traumas once again to the fore. This is my first book by this author and I’m not sure how she accomplished a book that was simultaneously heartbreaking and healing, how she managed to make the reader feel part of the story even though we were jumping timelines and perspectives between the tree, the characters, the plot versus the tree’s commentary…. It was brilliant and incredibly well-executed. I think the thing that makes this a little less than 4 stars for me is the inevitable fact that I could have done with a little more character development and a little more connective plot… I wanted more Ada, more Meryem, more Kostas… even more Defne… this was a very introspective sort of book where the characters often felt very isolated and the story mainly existed in their thoughts and reflections. For a book such as this that speaks to the interconnectedness and community of Cypriot people and more broadly of the interconnectedness of humanity and nature, the characters had little dialogue with each other and for me that would have been an opportunity to get to know them better. I recognize and the author points out (through the omniscient fig tree) that in reality unlike in fiction, we rarely know everything about characters or have the complete tale with all plot holes filled, rather we have bits and pieces of story, hints and allusions, gaps we have to fill in ourselves and information we have to content ourselves with never knowing, and this book feels very much like that. And I can accept this argument, but that left so much unsaid in the book (as it often is in life, but in a book you want to see it said- tangent: I also find it difficult to accept that Meryem came to stay in Kostas’ house and they never have a proper conversation that we can observe). That said this is so beautifully written. The proverbs and aphorisms are so apt, the reflections on human experiences of conflict, survival, migration, trauma, healing and what it means to be far from home spoke for anyone who has ever experienced the out-of-body feeling of trying to feel at home and at peace in a situation which is far from that. I found myself highlighting swathes of this book and I know it’s one I won’t forget soon. I plan to check out more books by this author.

What a soulful book. I had the fortune to read it on yet another island that is close to my heart, also full of fig trees, bees, flowers, and incredible beauty. Shafaz does not shy away from hard truths but wraps them in a blanket of love, which allows the reader to enter the difficulties of the story, the pain and suffering of her characters, including the animated voice of the tree at the heart of the book, and saving us from too much despair over what humans are capable of with the redemptive qualities of different forms of love and hope.

This book is captivating, extremely beautiful, sensitive, and illuminating. It takes the reader to the world of trees and animals with such ease and candor, teaching in a way that is never boring. It's as if Elif could see through the eyes of nature itself. And the parallel love story is moving and sad, and happy. I can't express how much I enjoyed reading this marvelous book.

Elif Shafak is an enormously talented writer, which is well known. This novel is a love story embedded in two ecosystems: the endlessly variable underpinnings of wild nature, and the sadly unvarying ecosystem of human conflict. In this case, the physical settings are London and Nicosia, Cyprus. The humans are Greek and Turkish Cypriots. The time frame from the mid-1970s to present day. It's a worthwhile read and a worthy reminder of divided Cyprus and its denizens. I would have liked to visit the tavern with the Happy Fig. Without rehearsing the many interesting elements of the novel, I'm sure some readers will find the fig tree as narrator to be charming and valuable. I couldn't see the merit of a fig tree narrator over a human one, as the voice seems utterly human (except for some fig trivia) and obliged to convey the usual context behind the action. The fig does change the time scale and does introduce nature as an agent in human life, instead of assuming a human-centered story altogether. There's a lot of merit in that. However, the fig -- and the ants and butterflies and birds and mice, etc. -- are personified in ways that disarm the uniqueness of their voices, making them intelligible but silly. To speak of a butterfly's children or of motherhood or a queen ant's mission in life is anthropocentric to the extreme. And there's a lot of this in the novel. The Island of Missing Trees demonstrates great care and research by the author, but it often is too didactic. I felt at times like I was watching a nature documentary with a terribly serious narrator. I also found the love story tedious - a kind of clichéd romance that has appeared and reappeared forever. I liked the protagonists but not their scripts. I can't spoil the plot by saying too much about the denouement of the love story, but it seemed a little improbable. I was expecting more of a diaspora motif, but I suppose that's blaming the author for not writing the book I wanted to read. The forensic anthropology that provides a backdrop to the discovery of the novel's core mystery is powerful and rings true, not only in Cyprus but throughout the world.

A story that starts and ends with love. It’s a great story of love, grief, life choices and how it affects us.

Anyone who loves trees, lovers, and islands will love this book. Prescient about all the books being written now about the hidden facts about plants. Insightful about the uselessness of war. Great characters that you care about and beautiful writing.

I have not read this author in the past but I will in the future! Great story teller and amazing command of the language. A++

I have found a new favourite author

Excellent book

A beautiful story from one of my favorite authors, Elif Shafak. When I heard that she was publishing a new book, I was overwhelmed with joy. To say that I adore this author would be an understatement. I read many of her works, including “The Forty Rules of Love”, “The Three Daughters of Eve”, and “Black Milk”. She is a great writer, who approaches difficult and emotional topics with delicate sensitivity, and her new book was a genuine pleasure to read. Kostas and Defne are two teenagers who are madly in love with each other. Kostas is a Greek Cypriot, while Defne is a Turkish Cypriot – this difference threatens their love. They meet in a taverna and their forbidden love grows with each day that passes. In the middle of the taverna, there is a fig tree, which bears witness to their encounters and a myriad of other things. War breaks out and things change, for the both of them. Decades later, Kostas returns to the island, in search of his lost love. Will he find it? And what will happen next? You will have to read the book to find out. The story will also introduce you to Ada, a young girl who is trying to figure out who she is and whose only connection to the far island of Cyprus is a tree growing in her garden. This story is moving and beautifully written. The sublime storytelling draws you from the first page and you can easily sense the motivation behind the book, the author’s intense desire for equality and peace. She explores so many different themes but I think the one that spoke to me the most was the emigrant life, and how we are always carrying a piece of our home wherever we go. Our homeland is part of our identity, no matter where we might find ourselves. What were the things I loved most about the book? • It reminded me about my home and the fact that I carry it in my heart wherever I go. As you will see, a large part is narrated by a fig tree. She remembers her life back in Cyprus, her roots so to say. “I still carry the island with me, though. The places where we were born are the shape of our lives, even when we are away from them. Especially then. Now and again in my sleep I find myself in Nicosia, standing under a familiar sun, my shadow falling against the rocks, reaching towards the prickly broom bushes that burst with blossoms, each as perfect and as bright as the golden coins in a children’s fable.” • It spoke of how we must let go of who we used to be in order to make room for the current self. Elif Shafak speaks about migration not only as a process but also as an influencing factor on our identity. “Because that is what migrations and relocations do to us: when you leave your home for unknown shores, you don’t simply carry on as before; a part of you dies inside so that another part can start all over again.” • Reference to the poems of C.P. Cavafy, one of the most distinguished poets of the 20th century. “Arriving there is what you are destined for/But do not hurry the journey at all…” • Story of forbidden love – I was rooting hard for Defne and Kostas to remain together. Their love story is beautiful and sad at the same time, and reminded me of the old cliché, true love never dies. “You know what I’ve been thinking since? I’ve been thinking that you are my country. Is that a strange thing to say? Without you, I don’t have a home in this world; I am a felled tree, my roots severed all round; you can topple me with the touch of a finger.” • Countless references to nature, and especially to trees. The author skillfully reminds us we are all connected, and that both trees and humans grow roots, which shape our identity. The key to happiness is being able to leave those roots behind and form new ones, discovering a new part of ourselves. “The Island of Missing Trees” is a beautiful novel, one that will definitely stir a lot of emotions inside. It will cause you to ask a lot of questions about who you are, especially if you are living far away from your homeland. Rich in descriptions and with numerous mentions of cultural differences and traditions, it inspires and delights at the same time. One of the best reads of 2021!

Hermosa historia narrada por una higuera. Aprendí mucho de historia y geografía. Los libros de Elif Shafak son siempre garantía. Mil recomendado. Y la entrega también sin problemas

The book I received has missing pages. Three chapter are repeated and around 30 pages are not there.