The Island Of Missing Trees

The Island of Missing Trees is a haunting, lyrical novel that explores love, war, memory, and the healing power of nature. Set between Cyprus and London, the story follows two teenagers—Kostas, a Greek Cypriot, and Defne, a Turkish Cypriot—whose forbidden love is torn apart by the island’s violent past. Years later, their daughter Ada struggles with inherited grief and unanswered questions.

Told partially through the eyes of a fig tree that has witnessed generations of suffering and hope, the novel blends history, botany, and human emotion to reveal how deeply the past roots itself in us. Elif Shafak delivers a profound tale about identity, displacement, and the quiet resilience of life.