Welcome to Litsy!

Half the book is narrated by a sentient fig tree. This book isn't for everyone, but the poignant prose kept me hooked. 16-year-old Ada Kazantzakis in 2010s London, grappling with grief and cultural identity, and her parents, Defne and Kostas, navigating their forbidden love during the Turkish-Greek conflict in 1970s Cyprus.

For some reason I expected to have a strong reaction to this one- either deep love or utter hatred. Instead all I could think was “meh.” Even the polarizing fig tree narrator who passes on information that they learn from bees and mosquitoes did nothing for me either way. There was some lovely writing and important ideas but otherwise I felt underwhelmed. #24in2024
#fourfoursin24 #fuzzybuzzy (for the bee who talks to the fig tree)

Does this book want to be a fictional account of the Greek / Turkish civil war in Cyprus or a Natural World non fiction by David Attenborough? It's seems to be both.

We primarily follow a young couple in Cyprus during the civil war. Defne is Turkish, Kostas is Greek, a dangerous combination during those times. We also follow a Fig Tree who wants to harp on about the natural world in all it's elements over and over again.

Not for me.

Really enjoyed this book - Interesting in so many ways - the connections with nature were touching and not over sentimental. Love , war and intolerances , death and the fig tree - just a lovely read .

This is the 2nd book I‘ve read by this author. It was very good!I like how it was told from two perspectives,one of which was a fig tree.I like when I learn while reading.I learned a lot about nature and trees with this book.This story tells that there is prejudice in all cultures.The characters had to fight to overcome prejudice in order to stay together.Unfortunately, this book also told of intolerance that didn‘t end well.I recommend this book

Told from an interesting perspective, this book beautifully describes the very real and damaging effects of conflict experienced by nature and humans. Really enjoyed reading and learning more about Cyprus 🇨🇾 #pick

Me and not the book? Hmm. Told from multiple POVs—including one that was so annoying I had to skip those chapters—this book about human connection, conflict, borders & the ways we cross/do not cross them, & trauma is occasionally lyrical & sometimes even profound but…BUT…ultimately it didn‘t quite connect for me. I‘ve read several books by Shafak that I really enjoyed & while I really liked sections of this one, on the whole it didn‘t work for me.

“Cartography is another name for stories told by winners.”

Started reading this one last night and so far I‘m really enjoying it. The author is using a device I don‘t love but 🤞 it doesn‘t become too annoying and/or distracting.

My favorite book of September was The Island of Missing Trees, which I read with my IRL book club.
#12Booksof2023 @Andrew65

It‘s fig season and I‘m reading this multi generational family story partially narrated by a fig tree.

I liked how the author looked at generational trauma, colonialism, and the LIFE and beauty off the natural world. What a fine ending too.

A story of forbidden love between a Greek boy and a Turkish girl and the fig tree which bears witness to their romance during the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in the 1970s. I thought this was a lovely story and I loved that the fig tree had its own voice. It added a bit of quirkiness. It‘s lyrically and beautifully written. A story of love, loss, grief and ultimately hope. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

This is a wonderful book about love, loss, and family trauma. I love the chapters written from the perspective of a particular fig tree 🙂

I quite struggled to finish this book, even though, I was intrigued by the premise. I found it quite long winded and dragging but the writing was beautiful. I have also learned a lot about Cyprus and the civil unrest there.

Kostas, who is Greek, and Dafne, who is Turkish fall in love when they are not supposed to due to their ethnic backgrounds. The story is also partly narrated by a fig tree.

“Because in real life, unlike in history books, stories come to us not in their entirety but in bits and pieces, broken segments and partial echoes, a full sentence here, a fragment there, a clue hidden in between. In life, unlike in books, we have to weave our stories out of threads as fine as the gossamer veins that run through a butterfly‘s wings.”

One island, two couples (one couple doomed to die, one couple separated and re-united after 25 years), and a tree acting as chorus.

The story was OK, but the snippets of information about trees were actually far more interesting and what push it up into a Pick.

@ShyBookOwl
#FirstLineFridays

#lunchandabook

It took me a bit to get into this. I didn‘t think I could bear with one of the narrators (the only one)? And the melancholy!

Now I‘m finding this quiet and at times, beautiful. The narrator that was bugging me? Wise.

It was a stroke of genius to have this story of love, trauma, promises, and growth — set mostly against a backdrop of civil unrest (building to war) on the island of Cyprus — partially narrated by a sentient fig tree.

📖 11-19-22 || This is an interesting story set on Cyprus with a fig tree as narrator. I would‘ve preferred the story be told in a more linear approach, rather than skipping around different times and perspectives. I wanted to know more about Yusuf and Yiorgis. I do feel like I learned a bit about the history of Cyprus and the Greek and Turkish Cypriots, though…

I really wanted to love this book but it did nothing for me at all. It‘s a book club read so I‘ll be interested to hear what others thought

I loved this story! The writing is wonderful, I loved reading about Cypress, the characters were great, each with their own baggage trying to move forward, and beautiful insights about the island, trees, animals, birds, and humans from a tree‘s perspective; brilliant! A truly delightful read.

Such a lovely and unique book told by the view point of several different characters, one being a fig tree. It‘s a story about love & loss over many different generations. I thought that the author brought up some interesting views on intergenerational loss and coping with things such as civil wars (in this case Cyprus). As how generations in the past want to bury and forget what happened whereas younger generations want to confront the past.

Day 4 of COVID and starting to finish some books.

This was gorgeous. I loved the setting of Cyprus and the history woven through, the chapters told by the tree gave the book a magical realism quality that fit perfectly into the weaving of the multigenerational story. Normally I am not a fan of back and forth timelines but Shafak does this seamlessly and I was so engrossed in the story I finished in a day.

This book starts off really slowly, and I almost gave up, but I'm glad I didn't. The story is deep and touching, and the story's shifting of perspectives is creative, though I found myself rushing through Fig Tree's parts, as a lot of it is technical botany and didn't always seem connected to the rest of the story. This fades as the story progresses, and the very last chapter brought some needed, satisfying closure.

This is my fourth book of Shafak's. While the writing is as beautiful as the other books, what made this novel so interesting is many of the chapters are told from the point of view of a fig tree who provides much background as well as an outlet for the humans to express their feelings. Much research went into this & I enjoyed learning about the island of Cyprus & its tumultuous history. Not my favorite novel of the authors but glad I read it.

The Sentence
The Mirror and the Palette
The Island of Missing Trees
The Book of Form and Emptiness
Small Things Like These
The Trees
Devil in the Grove
In Memory after Memory
Kim JiYoung Born 1982
Horse
After Sappho

#LittensWanttoKnow

If the evidence of this novel is anything to go by, fig trees make very poor narrators.

I felt disappointed with this book as it doesn‘t seem to know what it wants to achieve. Too many narrative lines fizzle out before they get anywhere. There‘s a nice love story against the back drop of civil war, but it‘s getting lost in the author‘s need to show us how much knowledge she has.

I reminded myself that life was not a trade agreement, a calculated give-and-take, and not every affection needed to be returned in kind…

Simply stunning! So many quotable moments! Brilliant prose! Awesome audiobook also!

4⭐/5⭐

This is a truly memorable novel. The descriptions of Cypriot nature, amidst the turmoil of 1974 clashes between Turkish and Greek Cypriots are poignant. The pov of the fig tree as a witness to all that unfolds is very powerful.
Highly recommended

1. Tagged, which is magical as well as moving. Braiding Sweetgrass, A honeybee heart has 5 openings
2. Yes, I love green, it's such a calming colour. I have a whole heap of nature books with green covers. All nabbed by my daughter for her green aesthetic in her room 🙄
3. This is not easy this month as I've read some fantastic books. See comments below
#weekendreads
@rachelsbrittain

"Once upon a time, at the far end of the Mediterranean Sea, there lay an island so beautiful and blue that the many travellers, pilgrims, crusaders and merchants who fell in love with it either wanted never to leave or tried to tow it with hemp ropes all the way back to their own countries.
Legends, perhaps.
But legends are there to tell us what history has forgotten."

Hooked ?

I absolutely loved this love story, set in Cyprus and also set in London. It was very moving.

“Cartography is another name for stories told by winners.”

🍓Yes
🍓 I wasn‘t sure I‘d enjoy the POV of a fig tree, but those sections ended up being my favorite in tagged book.

#Two4Tuesday
@TheSpineView

This is the second book I‘ve read by this author. I really loved this one. Beautifully written story