The story is told over a dual timeline. I learned a lot about the Cyprus conflict in this book. I loved both the writing and the storytelling. One of the characters was a fig tree, which was a very interesting concept. This book made me laugh and cry and equal measure.

If you had told me a few months ago that I would fall for a book that featured a talking tree, I would have laughed and ignored you.

The Island of Missing Trees is a beautiful, heartbreaking read that covers themes of immigration, identity, war, love and loss; loss of life and loss of culture. It shed light on a piece of history that I had no idea existed which once again proves how fiction can pave the way for igniting curiosity and sparking further research to enable us to be more knowledgeable about the world we live in.

This was my first time reading a book from the author but I am delighted to say I thoroughly enjoyed the story and I look forward to reading more books from the writer in the future!

I loved this book so much, the author's voice and writing style is so wonderful, I just couldn’t put this down , a truly powerful read , highly recommended

Possible my book of the year. will definitely read more of her books. this is a love story, with Cypriot history throne in and the ending is just so lovely and so unexpected. this is a book i will buy as presents over and over agin. a very talented writer and one to return to time and again

A well written (as always) book with warmt and love. I have enjoyed Shafaks earlier books, and was excited for this as well. It wasn’t as good as Three Daughters of Eve, but an overall enjoyable read

Elif Shafak is one of my favourite writers and this novel did not disappoint. It is clever, warm, witty, sad and haunting. I learned so much about the history of Cyprus.

I loved the subplot and the blossoming relationships that Elif writes so brilliantly. This truly is another masterpiece.

Such a wonderful book from one of my new favourite writers, such rich prose and delicate storytelling with fascinating characters. Always at the centre of her books is a strong beating heart that brings empathy and love to the forefront. Devine.

With thanks to Netgalley and to the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Island of Missing Trees is a sad story of a young couple who were teenagers and in love in 1974. Kostas is Greek Cypriot and Defne is Turkish Cypriot. It is full of love and grief not only for the people but if the country that was. July 1974 was when Turkey invaded Cyprus and divided the country in half and still occupies it today!

Kostas and Defne are the main characters along with their daughter Ana and a fig tree. Yes, trees have thoughts, feelings and experiences too!

The book touches on a lot of Cypriot history mainly from 1974 but also the lives of the affected people afterwards.

It's powerful and magical, it is Cyprus, and yes, that is a fig tree in the background.

The Island of Missing Trees is a "magical new book about belonging and identity, love and trauma, nature and renewal."

The heartbreaking but beautiful book follows two teenagers, a Greek Cypriot and a Turkish Cypriot, who fall in love underneath a stalwart fig tree at a local taverna. The other protagonist is Londoner, Ada. As the story progresses, it alternates between the past and Ada's present-day POV. This is when we learn more about Cyprus' history and her parents' forbidden love story. We're also blessed with the fig tree's POV. Using the fig tree's POV was unique and also captivating. It allowed readers to gain more knowledge and wisdom. The story flowed so well and was beautifully written. Definitely recommend.

I requested this book because I absolutely loved Forty Rules of Love by the same author.
I didn't love this one quite as much, but it's incredibly imaginative and beautifully written. Such a clever premise too - a fig tree being moved from Cyprus to London provides the anchor for this story. It's a real tear jerker too. I highly recommend it.

This is one of the most moving books I’ve ever read. I want to go and see and fell the place. I look at trees more and they move me more. This is not just a book it’s a way of being Thankyou

1974 on the island of Cyprus. Two teenagers, from opposite sides of a divided land, meet at a tavern in the city they both call home. The tavern is the only place that Kostas, who is Greek and Christian, and Defne, who is Turkish and Muslim, can meet, in secret. Decades later in north London, sixteen-year-old Ada Kazantzakis has never visited the island where her parents were born. Desperate for answers, she seeks to untangle years of secrets, separation and silence.

This is my second Shafak book and once again her command of words to tell a story is breathtaking, her prose rich and almost decadent tantalising the senses, vivid aromatic images formed in my mind and when it came to descriptions of food I would find myself salivating.

I thought this book was brilliant and had me under its spell from the opening chapter the format in which the story unfolded only strengthened its hold. I am a sucker for multiple POV’s (even if one is a tree) and a none linear timeline, I like to work to put the puzzle pieces of a story together.

I loved the frequent links to nature with the historical detail. I have to admit I had little knowledge of the conflict but the account provided (obviously not fact checked) seemed to be written with respect rather than just used for artistic purposes.

Despite the ambitious nature of this book as there are so many themes / subjects covered that it all balanced, nothing felt like it was just included for the sake of it, it all wove together to create a beautifully rich story.

Admittedly I did get a little lost on some of the spiritual stuff Meryem brought to the story but that’s probably my skeptical closed minded western view point showing through.

Overall Shafek has firmly established herself as an author I would not hesitate to read again.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for approving me for this arc

I found this to be eloquently written and overall a very good narrative. I really enjoyed reading it and felt immersed into the book which I really like being able to picture the book in my head and I found it easy to do with this book.

Love across a cultural divide and a family saga, it's got all the elements of populist (dull) novel. However Shafak makes so much more of this and it reminds me more of the magical realism writings of Marquez or of Allende on top form

The Fig is the star.
What a surprise, multiple narratives from some surprising sources, the best of course from the fig tree but also from a parrot, a mosquito and others.
I have visited Famagusta and found it a very strange and haunting experience, the green line is clearly visible and photographs of abandoned homes and frightened people are on show.
Such a lot to learn about the war and misplaced people. Turkish on one side and Greeks on the other, a people suddenly plunged into uncertainty , thinking they would return to their homes in a few weeks but destined never to return.
The story revolves around three people Kostas, a Greek, Defne a Muslim and their daughter Ada. The couple fall in love and meet at a bar called the Happy Fig, this is run by two gay men, who help the couple. Once the war starts, people disappear, usually killed and buried in hidden graves. Defne gets pregnant but Kostas is forced to flee to Britain where he gets a job with his uncle. He never knows what happened to his unborn child. Many years later Kostas returns to the island and their love is reignited, eventually they both move to England and have another child Ada, who is not told about her parents past until much later in her life. Both Defne and Kostas are very sensitive, emotional people which is shown in their actions.
I have a Fig tree and will show it much more respect and care in future.
Thank you Elif and NetGalley for this book.

“Ada opened the curtains and stared into the darkness canopying the garden. Invisible as it was, she knew the fig tree was there, biding its time, growing, changing, remembering – trunk and branches and roots all together.”

My thanks to Penguin U.K./Viking for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘The Island of Missing Trees’ by Elif Shafak in exchange for an honest review.

This extraordinary novel was originally published in August 2021. It has recently been shortlisted for the 2022 Women’s Prize for Fiction. My apologies for the late feedback.

Elif Shafak is a writer who has demonstrated her willingness to take innovative paths in her storytelling. In her latest novel this manifests by having a fig tree serving as one of the main narrative viewpoints in this tale of star-crossed lovers.

On the island of Cyprus in 1974 teenagers from opposite sides of a divided land meet at a taverna in Nicosia, the city that they both call home. The taverna is the only place that Kostas, who is Greek and Christian, and Defne, who is Turkish and Muslim, can meet in secret. The taverna is named The Happy Fig and has a fig tree growing through a cavity in the roof.

The fig tree bears witness to their happy meetings and silent departures and is also there when war breaks out and the city reduced to ashes. In the aftermath the young couple are separated.

Decades later the fig tree, or rather a cutting of the original, is smuggled to England in a suitcase by Kostas, now a botanist. It eventually comes to live in his London garden. In the late 2010s sixteen-year-old Ada is aware of the fig tree’s origins. It watches over her as she seeks to untangle years of secrets and silence to find her place in the world.

Elif Shafak weaves her story through time and location in a nonlinear style. However, these shifts were noted in the chapter headings so I didn’t feel adrift. In the audiobook there was also the change in narrators that signalled the shifts.

I adored the fig tree’s accounts of her arboreal life and interactions with other parts of nature. There were also snippets of history and mythology as well as a focus on climate change. Elif Shafak’s descriptions of insects, birds, butterflies as well as trees were lyrical. The poignant conclusion of the novel moved me to tears.

Overall, ‘The Island of Missing Trees’ was exquisitely written and proved an immersive experience. I absolutely loved it and hope that it wins the upcoming Women’s Prize for Fiction.

Once I'd got my head around the tree being a narrator I just loved this book.

Equally as good as the excellent 10 minutes 38 seconds in this strange world which I loved.

Elif Shafak has a unique style of writing from unusual points of view which is just wonderful

Oh I loved this book, so much. I had the pleasure of meeting Elif at the Cheltenham Literature Festival - she was so wonderful and I couldn't wait to read this book. My first of Elif's novels to read and it did not disappoint. You are simply whisked away into the story from the start, and I didn't want to leave. Atmospheric, breath-taking and simply glorious - I loved it. And i really cannot wait to read more from Elif.

Unique story following the conflict in Cyprus in the 70s contrasted against the 2010s. It’s a love story. Part of the story is told through a fig tree, and the book contains many facts about trees and nature. I enjoyed the book, but I felt the pacing was a bit off and the story dragged a bit toward the end.