I read my first Elif Shafak novel last year which was 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World and I absolutely fell in love with the way she writes. So when I found out that she had another book out this year, I had to get my hands on a copy. And you bet, as soon as it arrived, I didn’t waste any time in starting it.

The Island of Missing Trees is a story about two teenagers, a Greek Cypriot and a Turkish Cypriot, meet at a taverna on the island they both call home. In the taverna, hidden beneath garlands of garlic, chili peppers and creeping honeysuckle, Kostas and Defne grow in their forbidden love for each other. A fig tree stretches through a cavity in the roof, and this tree bears witness to their hushed, happy meetings and eventually, to their silent, surreptitious departures. The tree is there when war breaks out, when the capital is reduced to ashes and rubble, and when the teenagers vanish. Decades later, Kostas returns. He is a botanist looking for native species, but really, he’s searching for lost love.

Years later, a Ficus carica grows in the back garden of a house in London where Ada Kazantzakis lives. This tree is her only connection to an island she has never visited - her only connection to her family’s troubled history and her complex identity as she seeks to untangle years of secrets to find her place in the world.

I thoroughly enjoyed every moment of the book. It broke my heart whilst at the same time, filling it with love, passion and empathy. Again, I found myself reading about a time in history that we are never taught about and shockingly I never knew about through the power of Elif’s writing.

I've actually visited Cyprus once before and I'm really ashamed that I never knew about the country's shocking history of civil war until now. The way Elif writes is so beautifully poetic it's like you want to grab onto every word and just hold it in the palm of your hand for a while, staring at it, mesmerised by the sheer beauty of what you're reading.

I loved every single character but I felt sorry for Kostas’ daughter, Ada, because she had grown up in England, not knowing a single thing about her culture or history because it was too painful for her parents to talk about. It also made me feel really sad for the children we have in our schools right now not knowing/understanding a single thing about their culture/country yet are having to learn about the economic policies of British/American political parties during the 20th century.

I also loved that we get the point of view from the fig tree (weird, I know but stick with it). Through the fig tree's narration, we learn about the importance of nature and the effect of climate change. Elif’s research was superb and she excellently depicted, through the fig tree, how every tree and every living creature has a purpose and how human actions have caused/are causing thousands of animals and plants huge distress. Yet, we only care about our own power and existence and at a time when the need to change our ways to help the environment is as important than ever, I found this part of the story to be as motivating as it was heart-breaking in understanding how humans have badly treated this planet for so long.

Overall, I thought it was a truly beautiful novel and it deserves every single star out of five. It’s definitely safe to say that Elif Shafak can not write a bad book.

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