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The Island of Missing Trees  By  cover art

The Island of Missing Trees

By: Elif Shafak
Narrated by: Daphne Kouma, Amira Ghazalla
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Publisher's summary

Bloomsbury presents The Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shafak.

A rich, magical new audiobook on belonging and identity, love and trauma, nature and renewal, from the Booker shortlisted author of 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World.

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.

A moving, beautifully written and delicately constructed story of love, division, transcendence, history and eco-consciousness, The Island of Missing Trees is Elif Shafak’s best work yet.

©2021 Elif Shafak (P)2021 Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

What listeners say about The Island of Missing Trees

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WOW! What a great story and narration!

I literally just finished listening to this story and I am crying. I’m typing through my tears. How wonderful a story. The accents and differing voices in the narration were wonderful. I won’t spoil anything but I love the humanization of trees and insects. This novel will stick with me for a lifetime and it will quickly come to mind when recommending books to friends and family.

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14 people found this helpful

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The tree within us

This book is a wonderful reminder that human life is sustained by so many other living beings. I loved the story leading through the island’s vegetation, history (near past, pre- and throughout the conflict), youth, a family and people. In a intricate network all these facets are luring you in and you follow the story of a bee with the same if not more interest than the main actors, a Turkish- Greek couple who are together, separate and find each other and themselves in their professions. I also loved the aunt and her practical being with her niece, despite coming from different worlds, one of science and expressed feelings, the other of traditions and groundedness, yet fully alive.
Read it and you will transform past pain into life

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1 person found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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Good book club pick

This is a good story to discuss in a book club and find out the many views that came out of listening to the story. However, this isn’t my personal cup of tea for an every day listen.

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1 person found this helpful

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A Fig tree

This is like three novel in one. There is a love story in the middle, a historical story on one end and ecological story on the other. You learn, you feel and you live. Also great writing. Definitely a feast for readers who enjoy great works of literature.

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1 person found this helpful

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One of the most beautiful books I have listened to

Absolutely mesmerizing and beautifully written book about love, war, trauma, healing, nature, death and renewal.

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Beautiful book

This was the most beautiful book I’ve ever read. The words and tone of the book were just…lyrical. Beautiful.

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Incredible

Heartwarming/heartbreaking story. Narrators are among the best I've heard. Especially poignant now considering the violence between countries whose citizens consider themselves brothers.

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incredible

there isn't much to to say. it's flawless. would highly highly highly recommend reading.

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  • Overall
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The storyline

Amazing book and I love everything that Elif Shafak writes. Incredible author. I can’t wait to read more.

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One if the most beautifully written and narrated books

It’s rare that I want to read a book after I’ve listened to it but this is one of them. It’s a powerful story of memory, war, love and redemption. When I read it I will hear the wonderful voices of the narrators.

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