The Island of Missing Trees - Elif Shafak - ★★.½

AUTHOR: Elif Shafak

GENRE: Historical Fiction.

RATING: 2.5 stars.

In a Nutshell: Mixed feelings. I did learnt a lot of history. Plus, there’s some pretty lyrical writing. But where is the structure in the plot? Having a fig tree as a semi-anthropomorphic narrator was a deal-breaker for me. (No problem with a tree’s narration, problem with what the tree was made to narrate.)

Story Synopsis:

Sixteen-year-old Ada Kazantzakis is struggling with the death of her mother about a year ago. She is surprised to hear from her father that her aunt Meryam is coming for a visit, an aunt she has only heard of and never seen even once. For that matter, she hasn’t met a single relative of either of her parents. This is because of their complicated history. Her dad Kostas is a Greek Christian Cypriot, while her mother Defne was a Turkish Muslim Cypriot.

Through the backstory of Kostas and Defne, we see the traumatic history of Cyprus. Through the contemporary plotline of Ada, Meryam and Kostas, we see how grief impacts the mind, and how traditions constantly fight a battle with modernity. A part of the narration also comes from the pov of a fig tree that has roots (literally) in both Cyprus and England.

Where the book clicked for me:

☘ Plenty of historical snippets about Cyprus and the feud between the Greeks and the Turks. As a history buff, I relished leaning about Nicosia and its broken borders as well as divided citizens.

☘ Plenty of biological snippets about trees and insects and birds and other denizens of nature. This isn’t what I was reading the book for, but heck, I love animals and I love learning about them.

☘ There are plenty of thought-provoking quotes in the content. Some pretty metaphors too. This is something I have come to expect from Shafak’s writing. She looks at even the mundane in a striking manner.

☘ Except for the prologue, the book lends itself well to speed-reading.

Where the book could have worked better for me:

🌵I am perfectly fine with non-human narrators. I have loved books with povs of dogs and even one with a city as a narrator. The key to nailing this unusual narrative is to not lose the essence of the narrator’s identity. So a fig tree talking of roots and general biological observations, perfectly fine. A fig tree mentioning its thoughts on the animals and birds around it, also fine. A fig tree giving me historical details about the Greek-Turk conflict in Cyprus, or talking of how “she” is in love with a human, sorry. That crosses my limit for creative license. Thought the final chapter explains the reason for the “romantic feelings”, it felt like a manipulated resolution than a natural one.

🌵The writing is too lyrical, especially in the fig tree’s perspective. I prefer a balanced approach between prose and plot. When the balance tilts towards plot, I am still okay with it. But when it goes heavily in favour of philosophical ramblings and purple prose, I don’t enjoy the book.

🌵Some of the content related to animals was highly exaggerated, and even somewhat weird. Like, I don’t understand how a mosquito can know the name of the human it bit. Creative license, you say? Yeah, right! Not my cup of tea though. I prefer ignoramus mosquitoes. (And please, a personified fig tree talking to birds and mosquitoes and ants – okay. But they talking back to her and having conversations? Good God!)

🌵Meryam’s character was highly ‘exoticised’ to stress upon her traditional roots. It almost made her seem caricaturish. Some elements in her arc weren’t necessary at all for the main story, but only served to provide a fancy picture of Turkish beliefs. I dislike stereotypes, even when they come from #OwnVoices authors.

🌵I couldn’t connect with a single main character. The closest I came to liking were the Y&Y duo, but their arc is pretty minimal.

🌵It crams in so many themes! Traditions, colonialism, feminism, eco-consciousness, animal protection, LGBTQ relationships, religious disparities and divisions,… The focus should have been on Cyprus’s troublesome history but because of all the social commentary, the core theme loses its value.

🌵 Exactly the opposite to the above, there are so many points brought up in the plot with respect to problems faced by the two main female characters, but these are ignored or resolved too conveniently when the time came for explanations.

Most readers seem to have loved this book, so mine is but a tiny voice of protest. If you are still in two minds about picking this up, here’s what could help you decide.

1. Do you have any issues accepting a fig tree with human feelings? If yes, stay away from the book.

2. Are you more of a prose or a plot person? If prose, you will enjoy the book.

Still confused? Read the prologue from Amazon’s ‘Look Inside’ feature. If that kind of language works for you, you will enjoy the story as more than half of the book is written in that style.

As for me, I am disappointed to be the outlier on this one, but I can’t say I hadn’t expected it. The moment the fig tree spoke in a non-tree voice, I knew the book was a goner for me. Sigh.