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The Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shafak - 4.5 stars - My Review

Opening in 2010s in England, sixteen-year-old Ada is grief-stricken due to the death of her mother. She has been kept in the dark about her parents’ past. It quickly flashes back to 1970s Cyprus, where her parents meet and fall in love. Defne is a Turkish Muslim, and Kostas is a Greek Christian. Their relationship must be kept secret, as it is neither condoned by their families nor socially accepted. They separate when civil war breaks out, but are reacquainted later, when Defne joins a group searching for remains of those killed in the conflict.

This book is beautifully and creatively written. It portrays the manner in which the past informs the future, generation to generation. It is a story of grief, loss, healing, displacement, and identity. It pays homage to the natural world and a large portion is narrated by a fig tree. Shafak employs magical realism to enable the fig tree, other plants, insects, and animals to play a major role in this story. This device feels clunky at first, I decided to just “go with it” and it ended up working well.

The supporting characters are particularly well crafted – a parrot named “Chico,” a gay couple who own a tavern called The Happy Fig, and Ada’s Aunt Meryem, a fabulous character who connects the past to the present. I also very much enjoyed the setting. I have not read books set in Cyprus, and it was informative to read about its turbulent history.

I think reactions to this book will depend on the reader’s ability to accept a fig tree as narrator. The ending changes the reader’s perception of the fig tree and offers a deeper understanding. I very much enjoy Shafak’s writing style. This book provides another example of her evocative prose.

4.5

I received an advanced reader’s copy of this novel from Bloomsbury Publishing, via NetGalley. It is due for publication on November 2, 2021.

That sounds interesting. I will keep that in mind.

Quite a few years ago, I read Lawrence Durrell's Bitter Lemons of Cyprus about the conflict. Very sad.

I read another book by her that I really enjoyed.

Booknblues wrote: "That sounds interesting. I will keep that in mind.

Quite a few years ago, I read Lawrence Durrell's Bitter Lemons of Cyprus about the conflict. Very sad."

I put in on my TBR, thanks. I was surprised to learn that Nicosia has a wall down the center.

NancyJ wrote: "I read another book by her that I really enjoyed."
I have several on my TBR. I have only read one other, but I love her writing style.