Skip to product information
1 of 2

The Island of Missing Trees

The Island of Missing Trees

Regular price £8.99 GBP
Regular price Sale price £8.99 GBP
Sale Sold out
Tax included.

It is 1974 on the island of Cyprus. Two teenagers, from opposite sides of a divided land, meet at a tavern in the city they both call home. The tavern is the only place that Kostas, who is Greek and Christian, and Defne, who is Turkish and Muslim, can meet, in secret, hidden beneath the blackened beams from which hang garlands of garlic, chilli peppers and wild herbs. This is where one can find the best food in town, the best music, the best wine. But there is something else to the place: it makes one forget, even if for just a few hours, the world outside and its immoderate sorrows.

In the centre of the tavern, growing through a cavity in the roof, is a fig tree. This tree will witness their hushed, happy meetings, their silent, surreptitious departures; and the tree will be there when the war breaks out, when the capital is reduced to rubble, when the teenagers vanish and break apart.

Decades later in north London, sixteen-year-old Ada Kazantzakis has never visited the island where her parents were born. Desperate for answers, she seeks to untangle years of secrets, separation and silence. The only connection she has to the land of her ancestors is a 
Ficus Carica growing in the back garden of their home.

In 
The Island of Missing Trees, prizewinning author Elif Shafak brings us a rich, magical tale of belonging and identity, love and trauma, nature, and, finally, renewal.

'A wise novel of love and grief, roots and branches, displacement and home, faith and belief. THE ISLAND OF MISSING TREES is balm for our bruised times' David Mitchell

'An outstanding work of breathtaking beauty' Lemn Sissay


LONGLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE 2022
A REESE WITHERSPOON BOOK CLUB PICK
SHORTLISTED FOR THE COSTA NOVEL AWARD 2021

Dimensions: 13 x 20cm
368 page paperback book

View full details

Collapsible content

Delivery information

Royal Mail Tracked 24: £5.99
Royal Mail Tracked 48: £3.99

Spend £35 or more and Tracked 48 delivery is free.

Your order will be packed and sent during opening hours so please allow 1-2 days dispatch for orders placed on Sunday/Monday.

Our full delivery & returns policy can be found here.

FAQs

Can I collect?
Yes, simply select Click & Collect at the check out and you can collect from our Easton Store during opening hours.

What are your opening hours?
Our standard opening hours are Tuesdays 10-3:30 and Wednesdays-Saturdays 10-5 but check our homepage for updates.

Where is your shop?
Our colourful store is in Easton, Bristol. Our address is 104-108 Belle Vue Road, BS5 6BX.