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A review by bookstorian
The Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shafak
5.0
I'm not sure where to begin with this absolute stunner of a read. Excerpt that if you are a lover of historical fiction, enjoy duel time lines and an unconventional narrator this book is one for you.
'The Island of Missing Trees' spans across decades, oceans and ecosystems to tell the story of two teenagers Kostas and Defne who met on the island of Cyprus and their daughter Ada who his never visited the Island of her heritage.
Every time I picked up this book I was utterly swept away, the poetic nature, the captivating nature of the narrative, even the perspective of a fig tree and wealth of historical fiction littered throughout the pages took my bookish heart by force. I felt tied to the characters, their trials and triumphs and adored the infusion of food, culture as well as the deep connection to nature. The ending also could not have been more perfect.
This book also explores intergenerational trauma and the impacts of what that trauma, when combined with many others can do to a person and completely swept me off my feet right until the last page.
'The Island of Missing Trees' spans across decades, oceans and ecosystems to tell the story of two teenagers Kostas and Defne who met on the island of Cyprus and their daughter Ada who his never visited the Island of her heritage.
Every time I picked up this book I was utterly swept away, the poetic nature, the captivating nature of the narrative, even the perspective of a fig tree and wealth of historical fiction littered throughout the pages took my bookish heart by force. I felt tied to the characters, their trials and triumphs and adored the infusion of food, culture as well as the deep connection to nature. The ending also could not have been more perfect.
This book also explores intergenerational trauma and the impacts of what that trauma, when combined with many others can do to a person and completely swept me off my feet right until the last page.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent, War, and Child death