Reviews tagging 'Panic attacks/disorders'

The Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shafak

10 reviews

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!

---

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

jayvdw's review

emotional hopeful reflective sad 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

4.75

I really enjoyed this book. I loved the different perspectives whilst reading, especially the fig tree. The different perspectives really teach that everyone has their own struggles, past and emotions that shape that person. Furthermore, I loved reading the perspective of the fig tree, this really gave me a better appreciation of nature and all the intertwining forms of life. The book is also full of small life lessons, about how to deal with trauma, loss and love. One thing I was very happy to find out whilst reading, is the way Shafak talks about Cyprus, the fact that she speaks of the island and of it's inhabitants as islanders. I also learned more about the personal effects the civil war had on the residents of the island. A good friend of mine is from Cyprus and warned me that a lot of books about Cyprus get lost in the politics of the island and are almost always biased for one side, I was very happy to learn that this was not the case for this book.

Concerning the ending, 

I always had a suspicion that the fig tree might be more than it let on, but to find out that it was the spirit of Defne was a very nice ending. It really ties together the different themes of the book, about spiritualism from Meryem and the love for trees from Kostas. I also liked that some things in the book were left open-ended, such as the question Ada asks Meryem and the exact way that Defne dies.

 

Overall, I really enjoyed my reading of this book, sometimes it made me sad whilst at other moments it was very joyful. I loved learning about the different perspectives and about the island of Cyprus. Writing-wise, I really enjoyed the small chapters, it made the book way more accessible. Overall I give it a 4.75. For me, it's just barely not a full 5, the book just missed a certain spark that would keep me hooked to read it nonstop, but overall it's an amazing book. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: War

Moderate: Animal death, Bullying, Colonisation, Abortion, Addiction, Alcoholism, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Panic attacks/disorders, Abandonment, Child death, Grief, Alcohol, Death of parent, and Suicide

Minor: Hate crime

ncaldeir's review against another edition

emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Grief, Alcohol, Hate crime, Panic attacks/disorders, Homophobia, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, and War

dearbhlanoonan's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective slow-paced

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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, War, Pregnancy, Panic attacks/disorders, Hate crime, Xenophobia, Murder, Homophobia, Grief, Death of parent, and Violence

dany_casimiro's review

dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad medium-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

4.5

The care that goes behind every word in The Island of Missing Trees is astonishing. It is a very nuanced story, not only for its deep concern with diaspora, history, and memory, but also because it is at all moments aware of the natural world and how it relates to humans. Without ever crossing into annoyance, the fig tree provides a very curious point of view that adds newer meanings to the pre-existing multiplicity of narrative layers.
The idea of memory intertwined with nature is absolutely brilliant. In this case, the fig constitutes a surprisingly refreshing metaphor from roots to branches, perfectly encapsulating the nostalgia for one's past and land.

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Genocide, Xenophobia, Violence, Alcoholism, War, Pregnancy, Homophobia, Grief, and Death

watermelleon's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective 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? No

5.0

I need to have another cry and talk about this at book club before writing a review here.... I read a huge chunk of this today and it has been nothing but crying my eyes out with little water breaks. my library copy now has mascara smudges on it, nothing I can do about that I guess :s

in short - best book I have read in a long time. it is beautifully written, surprisingly close to home and relatable, generally so informative on topics I new nothing about (that I probably should have!). it has changed my outlook on many perspectives in my life. this is a lifechanging book that I will be recommending to everyone. there are some tough, tough topics but so much hope and nostalgia as well.

on a personal note: This book has allowed me to reflect on my own recently-uprooted family history, and has helped me reflect on that as well the now clear impact of this on my family moving down through the generations.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, War, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Pregnancy, Sexism, Suicide, Violence, Child death, Colonisation, Abortion, Abandonment, Alcoholism, Addiction, Alcohol, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Homophobia, Medical trauma, Murder, Death of parent, Bullying, Animal death, Cultural appropriation, Grief, and Panic attacks/disorders

Minor: Terminal illness

War Imagery throughout and discussion of death of multiple characters in detail (not graphic in terms of gore, but explains how they died). Colonisation: discussion throughout of colonisation in relation to cyprus and the effects of this, more focussed on the cultural impact than graphic/gore detail. Pregnancy and Children:

a child dies at a young age of malaria, child is assumed for a while to be an abortion.

Terminal Illness:

Main Character's grand parents died as a result of cancer- they were poisoned by asbestos from some overalls used for working in the mines

Sucide / alcohol / drug use:

the main character's mother is revealed to have killed herself, was an alcoholic and took pills to end her life

Mental Illness: many themes of mental illness throughout, especially a big theme of inheriting generational trauma (war related) and how this impacts younger generations the most. Bullying

short scene of bullying in a british school at the beginning of the book

Panic Attacks

short scene of bullying in a british school at the beginning of the book. The main character has a panic attack and screams during her class, an incident which is later discussed.

Homophobia

an interracial gay couple (two men) are kidnapped and killed within context of a war, it is suggested that their sexuality is a part of the attack as well as their conflicting cutural backgrounds

Kidnapping

an interracial gay couple are kidnapped and killed within context of a war, suggested that their sexuality is a part of the attack as well as their conflicting cutural backgrounds

rieviolet's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective medium-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

3.75

I did not mind the peculiar narrator, aka the fig tree, but I think that its narration was maybe given a bit too much space at the expense of the human characters. They felt a bit surface level, I would have liked for the author to delve more into their characterizations and relationships.

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*). 

---

Content Warnings

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

rosalind's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Grief, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Homophobia, Bullying, Death, Death of parent, Murder, Alcoholism, Mental illness, and Violence

Minor: Confinement, Suicide, Pregnancy, and Panic attacks/disorders

katievh's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Panic attacks/disorders, and Animal cruelty

Moderate: Homophobia, Death, Death of parent, Addiction, Violence, Gun violence, Colonisation, Alcoholism, War, Hate crime, and Child death

Minor: Pregnancy

jenpurlteach's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative reflective sad medium-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

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Minor: Abortion, War, Suicide, Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, Panic attacks/disorders, Homophobia, Death, Animal death, and Alcoholism