There were parts of the book I found deeply satisfying and moving and other parts that frustrated me or that I rushed over, and my rating reflects this.

In 2010s London a 16-year old girl, Ada Kazantzakis, who recently lost her mother, is having a hard time adjusting to her new life. Her father is having a hard time too. An ecologist and botanist, Kostas Kazantzakis is more at ease among his plants than with other people or his daughter. And what about the dead mother? We are told small bits here and there, and the only certainty is that she was very much loved by both her husband and her daughter. And the other relatives? The other relatives never set foor in her home and they declined to even be in her funeral. But why?

Told through alternating points of view, that of young Ada, but also a fig tree that speaks in the first person and used to live in Nicosia, Cyprus before a cut was transported to London, the story of two young lovers whose love was strictly forbidden unfolds bit by bit. The reader is taken back to 1974 Cyprus just before the events of ethnic violence and partition took place. We gradually find out that the love of the two young people was forbidden because one of them was a Greek Cypriot (Kostas) and the other a Turkish Cypriot (Defne). Even before the partition, people unhappy about communities intermingling in this way, and the young lovers' parents would disapprove. But when violence erupts and people get killed in the streets, their relationship becomes impossible. Will they rise above the circumstances and save their relationship or will they allow the world, including their parents, to tear them apart? We know through young Ada's existence that they stayed together and had a child. But the reality of what happened is much more complex and circuitous than this fact allone attests to. An event at school that upsets Ada, an aunt that arrives seemingly out of nowhere and a fig tree that has seen much and can say much if only you knew how to ask will be the catalysts for change and growth.

I loved the theme that Elif Shafak chose for this book: the ethnic violence that tore the island apart, the trauma of civil war, the silence that victims of violence endure... Shafak does not accuse or judge, and when a character in the book asks the question 'Who did that, Greeks or Turks?' referring to a gay couple that were brutally murdered, the reply is 'islanders, just like all of us'. A sense of common identity and belonging is fostered in the book. But this common identity is hard, even impossible in the face of so much bloodshed and wounding... Shafak of course is aware of this, and has her main characters stamped by the violence inexorably. Without wanting to reveal what happens to the main characters, suffice it to say that people do not quite rise above the circumstances but carry their wounding with them to the end.

The characters were very vivid and I really cared for them, especially young Ada. I also liked how Shafak intergated issues of global warming and climate change in her narrative: through the fig tree that talks about the arboreal condition and through Kostas' work. The aunt was a striking character proving that healing sometimes comes not through the wise but through the simple. But the plot was so riveting I sometimes found myself rushing through the pages and skipping stuff just to find out what happened to the characters next. The language was lyrical, too lyrical at times. This will certainly delight people with a penchant for lyricism but others, maybe not so much.

For me the biggest achievement of the book is bringing the wounding of the Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities both out into the open. This may be a thankless task. One of the characters in the book is heavily involved in finding the missing people in Cyprus, seeking information from local residents and using sophisticated DNA analysis to identify the remains. But when second-generation Cypriots are asked to tell their story, some of them react badly, with hostility. 'Why do you stir things up?' seems to be the message. But the auhtor is right to think that traumas have been submerged for too long, and that the third generation are freer and less intimidated than their parents. When Kostas agreed to Defne's request not to burden young Ada with stories of her origin, little did he know that Ada would sooner or later want to know about her past, and her parents' past. Young people today do not stay content with vague ideas about a brighter future. They are irreverent, less constricted in their attitudes and with a curiosity and desire to dig things up that is really heartening and endearing. I have a lot of confidence in this younger generation, and Shafak has too!!

Thank you, netgalley and the publisher for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

One of the best books of 2021 so far.

Elif Shafak never disappoints her readers and confirms once again her ability to write compelling and heartfelt stories.

Bringing nature into the narrative through the “voice” of a fig tree adds to the magic and tragedy of these events based on what happened in Cyprus in the 1970s and what’s still happening right now, everywhere in the world where generations of migrants ended up after leaving their island.

So many destinies are tangled up in the branches of this story, the destiny of an entire nation even, but we follow Kostas and Defne, their daughter Ada, and a fig tree, a Ficus carica transplanted in north London from Nicosia.
We also meet Meryem, Defne’s sister; Yiorgos and Yusuf, a gay Greek/Turkish couple who runs The Happy Fig tavern in Nicosia; Panagiota, Kostas’s mother; Michalis and Andreas, his brothers.

Shafak mixes the history of a country with the stories of imaginary families, their sorrow, their love, their tenderness, their fears. Nature, superstition and culture hug each other to convey all the power of Shafak’s writing.

I cried pretty much from beginning to end, I felt every bit of pain and joy with the characters and this book left me with a certain longing for more information about Cyprus and its past, its troubled history, its clashing traditions.

I loved this story – go get your copy because you’ll regret missing such a vibrant novel.

What a lovely gift reading this book has been. Thank you Elif. I personally feel a strong connection to trees and when I put my hand close to them leaving a little air gap, I can sometimes feel a buzzing energy as if they were trying to tell me something. So when I heard the words from The Fig Tree I felt I could trust her to tell me her story alongside the story of Kostas and Ada and Defne, and of Cyprus. Cyprus was a sort of historical artifact which I knew existed and had a turbulent and violent period and whose people existed in a kind of separated limbo. I've missed this type of story, where fictional people are telling theirs alongside and within the historical; where you absorb the facts because you are immersed in their lives. But it was so much more. Loss, trauma, secrets, identity, displacement, prejudice and a multilayered and beautiful love story with a perfect poignant ending.

To capture what makes this book so special I know you’ll have to read it. And you won’t be disappointed when you do. From the very beginning of The Island of Missing Trees you are immediately swept away by the glorious writing. Elif manages to evoke such beautiful imagery throughout the book with some of the most evocative writing I’ve read. As we follow the love story of Kostas and Defne, who find young and forbidden love before civil war breaks out in Cyprus, and the effects it has on Ada their child as a teenager. I was immediately drawn to these characters because they are so real. They way Elif shows how the past trauma can carry on for generations is so poignant. You can feel Ada yearning to know more about parts of her. I also have a special place in my heart for Yusuf and Yiorgos, a gay couple who run The Happy Fig Kostas and Defne meeting spot. I always love to see LGBTQ+ representation in books, especially when it’s this well done.

I absolutely adored this book. It was so beautifully written and addressees the theme of the civil war in Cyprus with such tact. I enjoyed the passages narrated by the fig tree. It was so original. I can’t wait to read more by this author.

I love Elif Shafak's books and was a great fan of "10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World" and "The Forty Rules of Love"
Her style of writing is flowery, poetic and makes me travel in space and time.
The Island of Missing Trees talks about Cyprus and of a forgotten conflict that still exists. of love that overcomes ethnical differences and of roots.
The fig tree is the constant in this book, a symbol of endurance and resiliance.
It's a poignant and emotionally charged book and i liked it as it's poetic and talks about a part of the European history that is nearly forgotten.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

A beautiful novel that tells you how to bury and unbury a fig tree in six steps, partly narrated by a wise fig tree, covers the civil war that divided Cyprus and throws in a complex relationship between Kostas, a Christian Greek and Defne, a Turkish Muslim. A novel that explores love, grief, war and the natural world. What more could you want!
Superlative and needless to say highly recommended.

I received a copy of this book to review from Netgalley and all opinions are my own.
It is difficult to summarise and reduce this book into a single book review because it is one of those unique stories that is much more and all encompassing. The writing is fantastic and I found myself pausing to savour certain sentences and passages throughout. The story contains many layers with stories within the story which give a rich complexity and depth to this story. At times, I found myself reading passages and then taking time to really absorb and enjoy the writing and storytelling. This is a great and unique novel that I will be pressing into ecry readers hands possible.

Teenager Ada has the worst day ever at school when she stands up and screams in front of her class. Life has been tough for her after her mum dies and her father is left heartbroken. Then her mother's sister arrives and it feels like it's all getting worse. Why didn't her aunt show up at her mum's funeral? But this book isn't so much about Ada as about her parents, how they met, how two people from Cyprus ended up in London, and about a fig tree.

This book is one that shifts from the present to the past and back again. And it has multiple perspectives, the most interesting being that of the fig tree. Essentially this tells the tale of two young people from Cyprus and their struggle for love, being of different nationalities and religions, and living in a hotspot of political unrest. Much of the story tells of the unrest in Cyprus with the stories of Kostas and Defne against this backdrop. And then there's the fig tree, a central part of the story. Its account is something of a fly-on-the-wall perspective at times but then it takes on a fantastical aspect with its communication with other living things that helps fill in some of the gaps of the story. The story has themes from nationalism, religion, climate change, and family and they all are interconnected with the life of people, animals, and plants.

I really enjoyed this but I can see there's a certain abstractedness that would make it less appealing for many. While there is love involved, I don't see this so much as a romance but about love. And it's not just that between Kostas and Defne but about a wider range of the experience of love. After all, it's something that breaks apart families when it's not accepted. It's also about the losses people suffer because of it. It's about choosing sides and family loyalties. It's all really thought-provoking without being a hard and dried analysis. The writing is lovely, sensitive and emotive and allows the reader to take it in slowly. I suspect this is the reasoning for shifting back and forth in time as it might well overwhelm the reader otherwise.

I give this four stars overall. I would like to thank Netgalley and Viking for sharing an advanced reader copy. I am providing this review voluntarily.

This novel deserves the enormous praise it is receiving. It is rightly acclaimed – I haven’t read another book like it and don’t think I will again for a long time.

I adored this book. I loved the writing and the story telling, the use of history and magical realism to bring this family to live for me and all their friends.
This book took me to the beautiful island of Cyprus and showed me the amazing natural landscape, but also the devastation of what a civil war can do to an island, a nation, to families, neighbours, friends and loved ones. Showing through the different generations how we can destroy our own heritage and nature.
At it's heart this This is a family saga with secrets and betrayals, showing that love can bring and hold people together, but also tear them apart.
This book made me laugh and cry, and made me think, I also learned about Cyprus and nature through the amazing storytelling.
Thank you to NetGalley and Viking/Penguin for an eArc of this book for a review. I now have a beautiful copy on my bookshelf and family and friends will be receiving copies as gifts. Amazing.

This is a remarkable book which I found impossible to put down, and one which I must reread before too long, in order to better appreciate its subtleties and the rich prose.
It is a complex novel, part magic realism, which deals skilfully and compassionately with a number of timeless topics including grief, displacement, difference, identity, and the relationship between man and the natural world. The plot intriguingly and successfully pieces together, non-sequentially, the events of nearly half a century to the very near present, with the narrative voice alternating between an omniscient narrator and a wise female fig tree, and making connections to ancient myths and superstition, as well as to history and natural history.
Elif Shafak is an astoundingly powerful writer, capable of conveying ageless and universal emotions for today’s world.
With many thanks to the publisher and to Netgalley for giving me a copy of The Island of Missing Trees in exchange for this honest review.

I think I'd stick to 5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Seems like I've just found my new favourite author. Yes, yes, I've never read any book by Elif Shafak before, however I have her books on my TBR. I'm going to change this in the nearest future, since I already have 10 Minutes 38 Seconds as one of my next reads.

So about the book itself:

I think I don't need to start buzzing a lot about how amazing the writing style is and how much I enjoyed it.

I love the switch of timelines in the books as well as the change of POVs, thus this story that is told through 3 timelines, 1970s, early and late 2000s, definitely won my heart.

In addition, could you even imagine anything more tender and unusual than the Fig Tree as a narrator? I think, that it's one of the best book chapters I've ever read! We find out so much about (secret) lives of trees. Why secret in brackets? Simply because we, humans, only see trunk, branches, leaves and flowers, we barely reflect on how complex fauna in reality is 🌳. And I think this book is a great way to find out more about trees, even in spite of the fact that it's of a fictional genre.

Despite this story is quite terrifying, it is at the same time heartwarming and even uplifting.

I'd like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with the e-arc in exchange for my honest review!

The Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shafak is a story told in fragments and in various times, about the ethnic divide in Cyprus and a couple trying to find their way to be together through it. I really enjoyed this book, I love the way Shafak uses language to thread the tale of an island that seems broken, but deep down being a place where everyone and everything are connected. I loved all the facts about various trees and nature and the perspective of the fig tree. It was emotional at times, the sense of loss and displacement a familiar theme in Shafak's books. I thought this was a great story, one where I couldn't tell it was going but being happy to be swept along to where it was. My only criticism of the book is that yet again there is another Muslim character that doesn't live by their faith but seems to abandon it altogether.

Thanks to the author, publisher and Net Galley for my free e-copy.

My absolute favourite place in the world is Cyprus so I knew from the first few pages I may just fall in love with this book a bit! Within the first few pages I knew I was right.

This book tells the heartbreaking story of the North and South divide following a daughter of a Greek Cypriot man ,a Turkish woman , their daughter and also funnily enough a fig tree

Covers many topics such as nature, religion, war and love.

I absolutely loved how much the land, flowers, plants and trees of a country I love were written about.

Parts of this book I found utterly devastating and I learnt so much about the Civil War in Cyprus that I was unaware of.

I also loved how the flow and writing switched from past to present and having a tree which had lived hundreds of years as part of the book enabled us to see generations of Cypriot life.

I loved the entire book and really didn't want it to finish.

Would definitely recommend this book and read others from this author.

This was my first experience of Shafak's writing, and I definitely want to read more of her work. She writes with an awe-inspiringly easy lyricism, and with smooth turns of phrase that echo long after the page has passed. Her storytelling is exceptional, and I enjoyed getting swept up in this historical fiction that stretched from 2010s England to 1970s Cyprus, a period I've never previously read about.

A book of beauty, lyricism, and creativity. A story that combines that with despair, destruction and devastation. This is a book that had me captivated from the very beginning.

This book is set between Cyprus during the 1970s, and London in the late 2010s. Going back in time we meet two teenagers madly in love but have to keep their romance a secret due to being Greek and Turkish. Reading of the conflict between both sides during this period is incredibly difficult. Then to later read during the acknowledgments that many were based on true stories are utterly heartbreaking. Shafak writes these with honesty and powerfully compassionate prose.

To have a fig tree as a narrator was an interesting choice, and at times can work very well. Some strange choices, such as the fig tree professing its unrequited love for Kostas, took away from the novel for me. It felt like a sort of gimmick that didn’t sit well with the tone of the book. The fig tree brings a sense of connection to the past, but also to the future and the environment. Many times we are reminded of nature being linked, through trees conversing with one another, etc.

This book is sculpted through love and details the harsh cruelties of mankind. It is told in such a magical and lyrical way that this will be a book that will stay with me for a long time.

Young Ada has recently lost her mother Defne. Her father Kostas tries to make the best of it, but risks losing his connection with his daughter. Fortunately, Ada’s mother’s sister Meryem appears on the scene. And in the garden is a fig tree. And not just any fig tree.

In The Island of Missing Trees, Elif Shafak tells the story of Kostas and Defne, a love story between a Greek boy and a Turkish girl on the island of Cyprus. The story is largely set during the turmoil of the 1970s, which was followed by the division of the island into a Greek and a Turkish part.

A large part is told from the perspective of a fig tree. This fig tree used to stand in the middle of a tavern in Nicosia, the capital of Greece. From that spot, the tree was informed about everything that happened in the country. On the one hand, through the visitors and the owners of the tavern, but also through other trees, plants and animals. Kostas and Defne move to England where they can really be together. They take a cutting from the fig tree with them. The tree gets a new life in London, where it will form an invisible bond with Ada.

In this, we see author Elif Shafak. As an author of Turkish origin, she had to leave her country. She is no longer welcome there. In the acknowledgements, she writes that if she had known she would never see Istanbul again, she would have wanted to take a Mediterranean tree in her luggage on that very last trip. If only that were possible…

The Island of Missing Trees is a beautiful book that immediately taught me a lot about Cyprus. Yes, I knew that the island had both Turkish and Greek inhabitants and I also knew that it had once been a British colony, but apart from that I knew absolutely nothing about Cyprus. Strange really, because the country is not that far away and the all-destructive war was not that long ago. For that reason alone, I would recommend this book to anyone.

Apart from being an educational book, it is also a deep and warm book. Heartbreaking at times, but above all warm and hopeful. Despite everything, there are still people who want to do something for others and who do not allow themselves to be led by xenophobia. There is love in this book and at the same time also an indictment. Or no, an appeal. To everyone who wants to hear it: Cyprus is not made up of Greeks and Turks, no, Cyprus is made up of islanders.

Finally, the important place that nature occupies in this latest book by Shafak. Beautiful descriptions of nature, animals and especially their behaviour. With a touch of magical realism. We can never be sure, but I too believe that a tree has some kind of consciousness. Shafak gives us one more tip, which I will not withhold from you. Use it to your advantage: “And for when you need to learn to let go of what you cannot control, [find] a birch with its white-silver bark, peeling and shedding layers like old skins. Then again, if it’s love you’re after, or love you have lost, come to the fig, always the fig.”

Many thanks to NetGalley, Penguin Books and Elif Shafak for providing me with an advanced review copy.

This book is like a pure magic. Words that have a power to create a breathtaking story to tell. Beautufiully written, feel like a poetry, even thought the topic is one of the most demanding one to present.

Magnificent love story. Hard, challanging, forbiden. She's from Turkish family, he's Greek. In Cyprus? It is nothing but a danger. For them, for their families. Dafne i Kostas are living in the time when the division, the civil war just started and level of violence and agresion towards each other is huge and costs a lot.

But the love is only one of the thing worth to be mentioned in here. For me, it's wonderful portrayal of Cyprus's history - very difficult one, with so many unnecesary death and conflicts. The island when, in the blink of the eye, everything changed and the border drawn on the map was the indication when and how to live.

The Island of Missing Trees is about roots. Some kind of reminder to taking care of the past of yours grandparents, parents - to stand and stay aloud I remeber. The past should be forgiven, but not forgotten.

This book is like a miracle for me. I don't expect anything spectacular, but I get a masterpiece, a incredible piece of literature, pages full of life, emotions, dust of history and the heart of the Cyprus. One of the best book I have ever read in my life

This is the first book of Elif Shafak and it was so beautifully written. Its written in away that it is magical realism, of Cyprus, enviroment qnd the people. This was qlso achieve with the fig tree having a voice and being one of the narrators of the novel.

The introduction draws you in and the below quote does relate so well to the whole novel

"Time is a songbird, qnd just like any other songbird it can be taken captive. It can be held prisoner in a cage and for even longer than you might think possible. But time cannot be kept in check in perpetuity. No captivity is forever"


Although "Everything here is fiction - a mixture of wonder, dreams, love, sorrow and imagination". The book is written around facts, true accounts and records. Which brings the book to life especially as it is set in two timelines .

I didnt know much about cyprus and the conquests and battles, but was informative, compassionate (especially regarding the traumatic, troubled past of war, division, migration) and does make you want to read and learn more about the times in cyprus in 1970. Especially after reading this quote in the note to the reader

"Many of the stories of the missing mentioned throughout the novel are based on true accounts"

So much is covered in regards to love, lost, tragedy, survival, religion, nature, grief and various ways it continues throuvh the generations.

Thank you netgalley and the publishers for providing me with a copy to provide an honest review. I have since gone and purchased a hardback copy of the book.