#72 REVIEW OF THE ISLAND OF THE MISSING TREES

TOM'S REVIEW

The Island of Missing Trees—Elif Shafak 

I suppose if I were an earnest, sensitive young adult--for example, one named James or Philip--I would love this book. But I’m a curmudgeonly 68-y-o Gruffalo and I can’t say I’m a fan. Too much explanation, not enough dramatization. Characters that are sketched, not painted. And, as with so many contemporary novels, the reliance on research as a cover for pedestrian prose and storytelling.  

And then there’s that polymath, multilingual fig tree. It not only knows (impressively) the history of Cyprus dating back to the Hittites, but also (weirdly) the full back story of a parrot named Chico. Add to that the languages of not only humans (Turkish, Greek and English at the very least), but also birds, bats, butterflies, mosquitos, ants and all forms of flora. A narrative device that puts the “t” in “twee” and has Walt Disney spinning in his anthropomorphic grave. 

The book takes place in two principal settings: 1960s-70s Cyprus, where the story centers on a pair of star-crossed lovers, the Greek science geek Kostas and the Turkish activist anthropologist Defne; and London, mostly nowadays. During the Cypriot Civil War of 1974, Kostas, in danger of his life, is sent by his family to the safety of the Big Smoke, but, as it transpires, not before he and Defne have consummated their love and—surprise! Well, actually no surprise at all, just one more in a series of predictable plotlines that add up to an above-average Hallmark/Lifetime movie.  

** ½