Member Review
Review by
Vivienne O, Reviewer
“Ada opened the curtains and stared into the darkness canopying the garden. Invisible as it was, she knew the fig tree was there, biding its time, growing, changing, remembering – trunk and branches and roots all together.”
My thanks to Penguin Random House U.K. Audio for a review copy via NetGalley of the unabridged audiobook edition of ‘The Island of Missing Trees’ by Elif Shafak in exchange for an honest review. The audiobook is narrated by Daphne Kouma and Amira Ghazalla.
This extraordinary novel was originally published in August 2021. It has recently been shortlisted for the 2022 Women’s Prize for Fiction. My apologies for the late feedback.
Elif Shafak is a writer who has demonstrated her willingness to take innovative paths in her storytelling. In her latest novel this manifests by having a fig tree serving as one of the main narrative viewpoints in this tale of star-crossed lovers.
On the island of Cyprus in 1974 teenagers from opposite sides of a divided land meet at a taverna in Nicosia, the city that they both call home. The taverna is the only place that Kostas, who is Greek and Christian, and Defne, who is Turkish and Muslim, can meet in secret. The taverna is named The Happy Fig and has a fig tree growing through a cavity in the roof.
The fig tree bears witness to their happy meetings and silent departures and is also there when war breaks out and the city reduced to ashes. In the aftermath the young couple are separated.
Decades later the fig tree, or rather a cutting of the original, is smuggled to England in a suitcase by Kostas, now a botanist. It eventually comes to live in his London garden. In the late 2010s sixteen-year-old Ada is aware of the fig tree’s origins. It watches over her as she seeks to untangle years of secrets and silence to find her place in the world.
Elif Shafak weaves her story through time and location in a nonlinear style. However, these shifts were noted in the chapter headings so I didn’t feel adrift. In the audiobook there was also the change in narrators that signalled the shifts.
I adored the fig tree’s accounts of her arboreal life and interactions with other parts of nature. There were also snippets of history and mythology as well as a focus on climate change. Elif Shafak’s descriptions of insects, birds, butterflies as well as trees were lyrical and this was enhanced through hearing it spoken. The poignant conclusion of the novel moved me to tears.
With respect to the audiobook, I appreciated having two narrators. I have listened to a few audiobooks read by Daphne Kouma and find her voice entrancing. She uses quite subtle shifts in inflection and accent for the novel’s various characters.
Amira Ghazalla is known for her work in film and television with only a few audiobooks credited to her. Her voice has a deep timbre, which was apt for the Fig Tree’s chapters given that the tree says that she first came into the world in 1878.
Overall, ‘The Island of Missing Trees’ was exquisitely written and proved an immersive experience. I absolutely loved it and hope that it wins the upcoming Women’s Prize for Fiction.
My thanks to Penguin Random House U.K. Audio for a review copy via NetGalley of the unabridged audiobook edition of ‘The Island of Missing Trees’ by Elif Shafak in exchange for an honest review. The audiobook is narrated by Daphne Kouma and Amira Ghazalla.
This extraordinary novel was originally published in August 2021. It has recently been shortlisted for the 2022 Women’s Prize for Fiction. My apologies for the late feedback.
Elif Shafak is a writer who has demonstrated her willingness to take innovative paths in her storytelling. In her latest novel this manifests by having a fig tree serving as one of the main narrative viewpoints in this tale of star-crossed lovers.
On the island of Cyprus in 1974 teenagers from opposite sides of a divided land meet at a taverna in Nicosia, the city that they both call home. The taverna is the only place that Kostas, who is Greek and Christian, and Defne, who is Turkish and Muslim, can meet in secret. The taverna is named The Happy Fig and has a fig tree growing through a cavity in the roof.
The fig tree bears witness to their happy meetings and silent departures and is also there when war breaks out and the city reduced to ashes. In the aftermath the young couple are separated.
Decades later the fig tree, or rather a cutting of the original, is smuggled to England in a suitcase by Kostas, now a botanist. It eventually comes to live in his London garden. In the late 2010s sixteen-year-old Ada is aware of the fig tree’s origins. It watches over her as she seeks to untangle years of secrets and silence to find her place in the world.
Elif Shafak weaves her story through time and location in a nonlinear style. However, these shifts were noted in the chapter headings so I didn’t feel adrift. In the audiobook there was also the change in narrators that signalled the shifts.
I adored the fig tree’s accounts of her arboreal life and interactions with other parts of nature. There were also snippets of history and mythology as well as a focus on climate change. Elif Shafak’s descriptions of insects, birds, butterflies as well as trees were lyrical and this was enhanced through hearing it spoken. The poignant conclusion of the novel moved me to tears.
With respect to the audiobook, I appreciated having two narrators. I have listened to a few audiobooks read by Daphne Kouma and find her voice entrancing. She uses quite subtle shifts in inflection and accent for the novel’s various characters.
Amira Ghazalla is known for her work in film and television with only a few audiobooks credited to her. Her voice has a deep timbre, which was apt for the Fig Tree’s chapters given that the tree says that she first came into the world in 1878.
Overall, ‘The Island of Missing Trees’ was exquisitely written and proved an immersive experience. I absolutely loved it and hope that it wins the upcoming Women’s Prize for Fiction.
*This page contains affiliate links, so we may earn a small commission when you make a purchase through links on our site at no additional cost to you.
