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A review by laurenrussell
The Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shafak
adventurous
emotional
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? Yes
4.5
This book is truly magical! Such a gem of a book. I thought it would be corny, especially with the tree POV but now it’s insane to think I could’ve hated it. The Fig Tree is so so soooo touching and something about her just warms my dead empty soul.
I’ve never read a book with magical realism, but I think this was a great introduction and I want to read more of it. The characters were cute and it was truly painful reading about their stories. I didn’t know anything about Cyprus so the historical aspects of the book were very educational and I learned a lot—the author gives a ton of information and resources at the end of the book which was super neat.
-so endearing and darling but sad !!
-very very well researched, u can really tell how much work the author put into every aspect of the book it’s quite amazing
-writing is pretty, especially when describing the environment but sometimes the dialogue was weird and didn’t seem realistic (too movie-like) and Ada’s “gen-z” character was ATROCIOUS and so cringe —i truly hated her with a passion
-i loved each character (except ada) and the development of the story throughout the book was amazing
-the fig tree omg she had me tearing UP i loved how that was a pov in the book it’s very unique and her storyline was precious
-defne merging with the tree didn’t make a lot of sense to me in the end but i do like how defne=daphne in mythology
-ada…literally such a whiny annoying little bitch who has 0 compassion for others and 0 cultural sensitivity. i hated her and the way she was like always on her phone (gen z always being on technology blah blah blah) and being some weird social justice warrior (like calm down) (and not in a good way) the writing of her character was heinous and poor which is disappointing but the rest of the book makes up for it.
-the folklore was interweaves very nicely…idk who the author is so idk if it’s an accurate representation so :/ seems nice though
-at first i didn’t like the similes/metaphors but over tjme (paired w the overall language + vibe) they became sweet and i liked them
my favs: tree strangling itself, someday pain will be useful, and the sea love/foam love bit
-this book made me appreciate all life and how everyone can be so beautiful and touching. like the little honeybee. and seeing defne’s and kostas’ relationship change kept me on my toes and i loved being in this little world even if it was very sad.
-honestly just makes me want to lay down and cry because everything is beautiful !!!
I’ve never read a book with magical realism, but I think this was a great introduction and I want to read more of it. The characters were cute and it was truly painful reading about their stories. I didn’t know anything about Cyprus so the historical aspects of the book were very educational and I learned a lot—the author gives a ton of information and resources at the end of the book which was super neat.
-so endearing and darling but sad !!
-very very well researched, u can really tell how much work the author put into every aspect of the book it’s quite amazing
-writing is pretty, especially when describing the environment but sometimes the dialogue was weird and didn’t seem realistic (too movie-like) and Ada’s “gen-z” character was ATROCIOUS and so cringe —i truly hated her with a passion
-i loved each character (except ada) and the development of the story throughout the book was amazing
-the fig tree omg she had me tearing UP i loved how that was a pov in the book it’s very unique and her storyline was precious
-ada…literally such a whiny annoying little bitch who has 0 compassion for others and 0 cultural sensitivity. i hated her and the way she was like always on her phone (gen z always being on technology blah blah blah) and being some weird social justice warrior (like calm down) (and not in a good way) the writing of her character was heinous and poor which is disappointing but the rest of the book makes up for it.
-the folklore was interweaves very nicely…idk who the author is so idk if it’s an accurate representation so :/ seems nice though
-at first i didn’t like the similes/metaphors but over tjme (paired w the overall language + vibe) they became sweet and i liked them
my favs: tree strangling itself, someday pain will be useful, and the sea love/foam love bit
-this book made me appreciate all life and how everyone can be so beautiful and touching. like the little honeybee. and seeing defne’s and kostas’ relationship change kept me on my toes and i loved being in this little world even if it was very sad.
-honestly just makes me want to lay down and cry because everything is beautiful !!!