Stephanie Sullivan: Review - The Island of Missing Trees

October 17, 2022

TITLE: The Island of Missing Trees

RATING: ★★★★

Summary (from Goodreads): A rich, magical new book on belonging and identity, love and trauma, nature and renewal, from the Booker shortlisted author of 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World.

Two teenagers, a Greek Cypriot and a Turkish Cypriot, meet at a taverna on the island they both call home. In the taverna, hidden beneath garlands of garlic, chili peppers and creeping honeysuckle, Kostas and Defne grow in their forbidden love for each other. A fig tree stretches through a cavity in the roof, and this tree bears witness to their hushed, happy meetings and eventually, to their silent, surreptitious departures. The tree is there when war breaks out, when the capital is reduced to ashes and rubble, and when the teenagers vanish. Decades later, Kostas returns. He is a botanist looking for native species, but really, he’s searching for lost love.

Years later a Ficus carica grows in the back garden of a house in London where Ada Kazantzakis lives. This tree is her only connection to an island she has never visited - her only connection to her family’s troubled history and her complex identity as she seeks to untangle years of secrets to find her place in the world.

A moving, beautifully written and delicately constructed story of love, division, transcendence, history and eco-consciousness, The Island of Missing Trees is Elif Shafak’s best work yet.

REVIEW: What an interesting read! First and foremost, I must commend the author on the incredible amount of research that obviously went into creating this book. I loved learning about the history, folklore, and intriguing superstitions among the various nationalities represented in the story. Also, having the viewpoint of the fig tree was something new to me. I didn’t think I would enjoy it as much as I did, but it was a welcome change from reading the viewpoints from the hero and heroine only. If you’re looking for something a little different from your normal reading material, then I would recommend this book. I’m glad I took a chance on it.