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A review by katiegilley
The Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shafak
5.0
This was my first Elif Shafak novel and I'm pretty sure it won't be my last; I'm not sure anything I can write can do it justice. Kostas and Defne, teenagers on the island of Cyprus during the 70s, fall in love despite knowing their families would never approve. Their relationship is full of interruptions and fear of being found out.
Fast forward to the late 2010s in London and we meet their teenage daughter, Ada, struggling to understand the loss of her mother and why there's no contact from family members still in Cyprus.
Wrapped up in this all, is a fig tree. The fig tree was nearly 100 years old before Kostas took a cutting and smuggled it back to London. The fig tree witnessed so much history in Cyprus - held such a deep connection the humans, flora, and fauna of the island. And now, in London, the tree falls in love with Kostas.
See? I can't do it justice. But it's beautifully written, wonderfully structured, and absolutely un-put-down-able.
Fast forward to the late 2010s in London and we meet their teenage daughter, Ada, struggling to understand the loss of her mother and why there's no contact from family members still in Cyprus.
Wrapped up in this all, is a fig tree. The fig tree was nearly 100 years old before Kostas took a cutting and smuggled it back to London. The fig tree witnessed so much history in Cyprus - held such a deep connection the humans, flora, and fauna of the island. And now, in London, the tree falls in love with Kostas.
See? I can't do it justice. But it's beautifully written, wonderfully structured, and absolutely un-put-down-able.