Reviews tagging 'Murder'

جزيرة الأشجار المفقودة by Elif Shafak

65 reviews

annakh16's review against another edition

dark emotional informative sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.75

First things first: this book is a lot darker than the synopsis suggests imo. I’d recommend looking at content warnings. 

I really want to like this more than I did. The plot in Cyprus was heartbreaking,

especially Yusuf’s and Yiorgos’ story was moving

, and the writing was good. But I’ll be honest: I think the entire late-2010s plot could’ve been cut. Most of it went nowhere,

especially the exorcism part?

, and it was mostly just the characters sitting around. I understand it was aimed to develop an understanding of generational trauma, but I don’t think it was pulled off, because the overall discussion of the emotional impact on the characters was underdeveloped. The beginning was also soo slow and nearly made me DNF. 

I also couldn’t get into the fig tree perspective. I think it was more enjoyable towards the end, when it actually told the story of the tavern, but in the beginning there were a lot of seemingly unrelated flora & fauna facts that just slowed down the story. If you enjoy that, this might work better, but it wasn’t for me. (And I agree that it overshadowed/hampered discussion of the human characters‘ thoughts and feelings). 

The story in Cyprus was no doubt my favourite, and I quite liked it. In my opinion, the book would’ve done a lot better just sticking to that. I learned a lot, but unfortunately I think this could’ve been better. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Violence, and War

Moderate: Child death, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Death of parent, Animal death, and Mental illness

Minor: Abortion, Suicide, and Grief

There is a chapter where Ada‘s aunt takes her to see an exorcist. Nothing comes from it, Ada does not seem upset by it and in fact finds it funny. But I wasn’t quite sure how to categorise this.

kaanda's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

• 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

4.75

So descriptive that I can clearly see the tavern and every character in it. A very beautiful and painful story with seamless flow. Loved it!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Death, Abortion, Addiction, War, Alcoholism, Death of parent, Grief, Abandonment, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Pregnancy, Sexism, Animal cruelty, Hate crime, Homophobia, Murder, Animal death, Suicide, and Racism

Minor: Classism, Misogyny, Sexual content, Colonisation, and Gun violence

mr_cain's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• 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

5.0

I love the fig tree as a narrator!!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Xenophobia, War, Violence, Alcohol, Grief, Animal death, Child death, and Colonisation

Moderate: Hate crime, Gun violence, Murder, Police brutality, Homophobia, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Pregnancy

Minor: Alcoholism and Torture

reading_srsly's review against another edition

adventurous reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

* Nature

* Heritage

* Forbidden Love

* Grief

* War

The Island of Missing Trees follows two generations of Kazantzakis, with the fig tree that lived through it all to fill in the missing gaps. The story spans several decades, covering everything from the forbidden young love between Kostas and Defne, to the modern struggles of a girl who feels like she doesn’t quite fit in, to the harsh and often violent realities of a culturally divided island.

The book is written in an unconventional style, with different timelines and alternate perspectives revealing the past along with the current timeline. There’s a touch of magic in this story primarily through the narration by the fig tree, but it remained firmly in the realm of magical realism. This complexity did make the impact of the stories difficult to track at times, and to me, despite starting the novel off in her perspective, Ada’s storyline never really came together in a satisfying way. 

What stands out the most is the prose. The author has a captivating way of writing, and fully immersive and distinct environments that are a character unto themselves, and add to the weight and symbolism of the book. While the story was more of a slow reveal of a family’s heritage where the intrigue comes from learning how things played out, there were definitely a few unexpected twists. Heritage and understanding your past was also a huge theme, and the story was rich with insights into the history of Cyprus and what it means to grieve and feel like an outcast. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: War

noiraet's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative sad medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.75

A truly memorable book for me. 
1. Made me read up on the history of Cyprus and the Cypriot Civil War. 2. Excellent, compelling (heartbreaking) thematization of generational trauma, identity, family, love and moving forward
3. First book I’ve read in which one of the narrating voices is a tree - this was brilliantly realized.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder and War

Moderate: Alcoholism, Homophobia, Abortion, and Death of parent

taytots24's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Child death, and Death of parent

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Alcoholism, Police brutality, Suicide, Alcohol, Ableism, and Gun violence

ariromi's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Death, Mental illness, Child death, War, Murder, Death of parent, Religious bigotry, Abortion, and Addiction

Minor: Pandemic/Epidemic, Rape, Gun violence, Pregnancy, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Infertility, and Blood

utopiaandmelancholy's review against another edition

challenging emotional inspiring reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Stunningly written. The subject matter is difficult, but the hope shines through as well. I wasn't very aware of the history around the Cyprus civil war, which is still in very recent history, but this was a vivid and personal introduction. The fig tree sections I also thought were beautiful. I already have an interest in plant science so I did already know some of the amazing facts that are shared, but I loved the way they also support the story. A fantastic exploration of love against the odds, generational trauma, and the fracturing of a community in a troubled time.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Mental illness, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Child death, Homophobia, Animal death, Hate crime, Islamophobia, Medical content, Grief, and Police brutality

Moderate: Drug use, Pregnancy, Drug abuse, Abandonment, Colonisation, and Alcohol

Minor: Abortion

miaaa_lenaaa's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

There were a lot of things that i really enjoyed about this book and i do think it is very good but i think because i liked it, it frustrated me more at times
Like the bits from the fig tree: super interesting idea, love that as a way to tell history! But should have been edited down way more, and sometimes it felt too non fictiony for a fiction book
Also there were several different quotes i really liked but if that because sometimes it feels like she just keeps saying the say thing until she can get it across perfectly? Idk felt like it should have been edited more
So yeah would recommend, and it was v good and with a really interesting topic that ive not read about before but also why would a bee be able to read? Y’know?

‘People assume it's a matter of personality, the difference between optimists and pessimists. But I believe it all comes down to an inability to forget. The greater your powers of retention, the slimmer your chances at optimism.’

‘when you leave your home for unknown shores, you don't simply carry on as before; a part of you dies inside so that another part can start all over again.’

‘'Because the past is a dark, distorted mirror. You look at it, you only see your own pain. There is no room in there for someone else's pain.'’

‘sometimes what you called a perpetrator was just another name for an unacknowledged victim.’

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Suicide, Violence, War, Abortion, Death of parent, Gore, Blood, Addiction, Colonisation, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Kidnapping, Murder, Pregnancy, Hate crime, and Mental illness

jenlovesbooksandcoffee's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective relaxing sad medium-paced

• 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

Sometimes, what you call the perpetrator was just another name for an unacknowledged victim.

The audio is so good!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder, Hate crime, Homophobia, Animal cruelty, Colonisation, Pregnancy, Genocide, Death of parent, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, War, Abortion, Animal death, Bullying, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Xenophobia