Book: The Island of Missing Trees
Autor: Elif Shafak
Country: Turkey
Format: Audio
Narrators: Amira Ghazalla, Daphne Kouma
Length: 12h
Publication: 2021
This book was recommended by Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London, and by the number of times he uses the word ‘wonderful’ in the video, I assumed I should read it. But I’ll confess that it took me a while to warm up to the novel. The blurb describes it as a love story between a Greek and a Turk amid the civil war in Cyprus.
So what wasn’t my surprise when the first chapter started with a teenage girl having problems in school and the second chapter was narrated by a tree? I almost thought about giving up, but I’m glad I didn’t.
“Because in real life, unlike in history books, stories come to us not in their entirety but in bits and pieces, broken segments and partial echoes, a full sentence here, a fragment there, a clue hidden in between.”
The Island of Missing Trees
This book is set in two timelines. The first one is London in the late 2010s, where 16-year-old Ada Kazantzakis struggles to find answers about her parents’ ancestry.
The second timeline is set in Cyprus in the 1970s and tells the story of how Kostas, a Greek Cypriot, and Defne, a Turkish Cypriot, fell in love despite the civil war that was starting between the two groups on the island. There was only one place where they could meet in secret: the Happy Fig tavern, owned by two men who also carried their own secret.
Connecting the two stories are chapters told in first person by a fig tree, decades old, who was able to witness both timelines. That part of the book is very entertaining, and it’s a nice way to tell the background story of what happened to the characters.
The tree not only witnesses the events that happen, but she also talks to animals, bees, birds, insects, and rodents, who bring news and help us put the puzzle together. Other than being childish, this part is very informative and full of appreciation for nature.
“…that is what migrations and relocations do to us: when you leave your home for unknown shores, you don’t simply carry on as before; a part of you dies inside so that another part can start all over again.”
The Island of Missing Trees
You probably already know that historical fiction is one of my favourite genres, and I loved following Ada, Kostas and Defne’s stories against the background of the historical turmoil in Cyprus. I read some of the story of the island and it was fascinating to see how the island was occupied and ruled by different empires through the centuries.
Despite being an independent country, Cyprus is still divided today, and the buffer zone created by the UN in the 70s is still partially in effect. The civil war ended and reunification was proposed in a referendum by the UN, but it was rejected.
At least we find some reconciliation in the book. It’s a lovely story, and I recommend it to anyone who likes some romance mixed with history.
Here’s a video if you want to dive more into the history of Cyprus:
Why the Island of Cyprus Is Still Divided | Forgotten War
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