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A review by whatannikareads
The Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shafak
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-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
4.0
i just have to say the cover of this book is sooooo beautiful!
the writing is equally as beautiful. it’s one of those books where it’s evident how much research was put into it. i’m very appreciative to have been introduced to cypriot culture through this book. the prose is thoughtful and informative. i really enjoyed the narrative sections, and at first i enjoyed the perspective from the fig tree, but towards the end it annoyed me a little because it would interject the plot and it sometimes didn’t feel like it added anything; it was filler information about trees. while informative, it also made me want to get back to narrative.
i also don’t know if i loved the way ada was written? i understand she’s a teenager lacking some emotional control, but it felt like the other characters were 3D and she was written two dimensionally. she was one of the main character but i struggled to empathize with her because (maybe i’m just an adult now lol) she was just annoying and had an attitude the whole time!
overall though i think this is an important book that highlights history and culture i might not have known of otherwise!
the writing is equally as beautiful. it’s one of those books where it’s evident how much research was put into it. i’m very appreciative to have been introduced to cypriot culture through this book. the prose is thoughtful and informative. i really enjoyed the narrative sections, and at first i enjoyed the perspective from the fig tree, but towards the end it annoyed me a little because it would interject the plot and it sometimes didn’t feel like it added anything; it was filler information about trees. while informative, it also made me want to get back to narrative.
i also don’t know if i loved the way ada was written? i understand she’s a teenager lacking some emotional control, but it felt like the other characters were 3D and she was written two dimensionally. she was one of the main character but i struggled to empathize with her because (maybe i’m just an adult now lol) she was just annoying and had an attitude the whole time!
overall though i think this is an important book that highlights history and culture i might not have known of otherwise!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abortion, Grief, Hate crime, Homophobia, Pregnancy, Racism, Suicide, War, Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Death of parent, and Death