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mwaskom's review against another edition
4.25
Graphic: Violence, War, Xenophobia, Child death, and Death of parent
Moderate: Alcoholism, Homophobia, Murder, Colonisation, Pregnancy, Islamophobia, and Hate crime
Minor: Abortion
toomanydresses's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Child death, Colonisation, Death of parent, Alcoholism, and Homophobia
mel_s_bookshelf's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
Graphic: Grief, Hate crime, Death, Death of parent, War, Violence, and Abortion
Moderate: Child death, Suicide, Sexism, Alcohol, Pregnancy, and Mental illness
Minor: Sexual content
mermaidstears's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Violence, and War
Moderate: Death of parent, War, Murder, Animal death, Grief, Animal cruelty, Colonisation, Pregnancy, Homophobia, Hate crime, Gun violence, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Child death, Torture, and Suicide
sydneybedell's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Violence, War, Death of parent, Death, and Child death
Moderate: Homophobia, Police brutality, and Pregnancy
Minor: Alcoholism
meggles's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Moderate: War, Child death, Murder, Hate crime, and Homophobia
Minor: Pregnancy and Suicide
rieviolet's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Also, the final revelation left me a bit perplexed, I was not expecting it and I think that it added an ulterior element of magical realism that felt a bit like too much.
Still, the writing style was really good, maybe just at times it felt a bit overdone, that is overly sentimental for my taste or going a bit overboard with the metaphors.
Overall it was a nice reading experience, that taught me a lot about the natural world and about a time and place that I knew nothing about.
Also, please give me an entire book on Yiorgos and Yusuf's backstory (*crying in extreme sadness*).
Graphic: Murder, Animal death, Gun violence, Death, War, Abortion, and Violence
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Bullying, Death of parent, Grief, Colonisation, Religious bigotry, Xenophobia, Sexism, Alcoholism, Homophobia, Child death, Drug abuse, and Mental illness
Minor: Infidelity, Cancer, Torture, Rape, Sexual content, and Suicide
deedireads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
TL;DR REVIEW:
The Island of Missing Trees is a beautifully written, mournful little love story. While I don’t think it was perfect, I liked it very much and would recommend it.
For you if: You like an unconventional (read: kind of magical) narrator.
FULL REVIEW:
The Island of Missing Trees was my last read from the 2022 Women’s Prize shortlist, and my second by Elif Shafak. While I don’t think it was perfect, I liked it very much and would definitely recommend it.
The story takes place on two timelines. In the late 2010s, a teenage girl named Ada and her father (Kostas) are still grieving the death of Ada’s mother (Defne), and her Defne’s sister comes to visit them in London. Throughout, we also flash back to trace Kostas and Defne’s relationship over time. They lived in Cyprus during a period of civil war, he being Greek and Christian and she being Turkish and Muslim, and had to hide their relationship. The story is narrated by a fig tree that grew in the tavern where they would meet, and which Kostas brought with them to London.
This is a quietly sad love story; but it’s also about generational memory/trauma, and family, and freedom, and home; and also about the beauty and wonder of the natural world around us, trees and animals alike. It took me a little bit to fully settle into the story, but once I did, I really, really enjoyed it. I was most drawn to the chapters set in flashback. It’s also written in very short chapters, which always helps propel a story through time.
I had mixed feelings about our tree narrator. On the one hand, she could tip a little bit cheesy, and I found some of her interludes about the natural world extemporaneous — think, like, Bewilderment (or maybe The Overstory would be a better comparison, but I haven’t read that one yet so can’t say for sure). That said, it’s her voice that gives this novel the storytelling vibe that I came to ultimately love.
If you’re curious about this one, especially the tree narrator telling us a mournful love story, definitely give this one a shot.
Graphic: Animal death, Child death, War, Violence, and Death of parent
Moderate: Grief
Minor: Abortion and Homophobia
atamano's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Homophobia, Murder, Death, Death of parent, War, Animal death, and Grief
Moderate: Cancer and Child death
Minor: Pregnancy
kyahs's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Moderate: Child death, Alcoholism, Death of parent, War, and Murder