The Island of Missing Trees

1. General Impressions

Gather initial thoughts and broad opinions about the book.

• The Island of Missing Trees features two love stories—Kostas and Defne, and Yiorgos and Yusuf—and the reader is privy to the endings of both these love stories fairly early on. How does knowing what happens to both couples upfront color your reading of the novel?
• A number of Elif Shafak’s novels propound the interconnectedness of life and the universality of human nature. How does she uniquely explore these ideas in The Island of Missing Trees?

2. Personal Reflection and Connection

Encourage readers to connect the book’s themes and characters with their personal experiences.

• Who do you think is the true protagonist of the novel, and why? Which of the characters’ experiences or worldviews do you most resonate with?
• Ada struggles to consolidate her identity in the absence of any cultural or historical context presented to her in her early years. How did you make sense of your own identity growing up? What are the elements that have shaped you most predominately—family, personal history, ethnicity, nationality, or something else altogether? Have you experienced opposing ideas or gaps in any of these elements? How do you reconcile them?
• Despite being the daughter of a Greek man and a Turkish woman, England-born-and-bred Ada speaks neither language. Do you speak more than one language? In either your own or observed experience, is there a difference in the way bilingual or multilingual people view and experience the world as opposed to those who speak only one language?
• Through her work with the Committee of Missing Persons, Defne identifies distinct patterns in which three consecutive generations respectively deal with trauma. Of the three responses, which approach do you personally most identity with in how you meet challenge and adversity?
• Ada learns about her family and their cultural history not from her own parents, but from her maternal aunt, Meryam; through this process, Ada overcomes her initial hostility towards Meryam, and aunt and niece go on to forge a close, meaningful relationship. Have you had, or witnessed, a relationship with a family member grow and change in this manner over time? What facilitated the evolution?

3. Societal and Cultural Context

Examine the book’s relevance to societal issues, historical events, or cultural themes.

• In the context of the two love stories, discuss how the novel explores the boundaries between, intricacies of, and overlap between morality and legality. What comment does Shafak attempt to make on the judgment of right and wrong within and outside the confines of the law?
• The Island of Missing Trees is set against the backdrop of the “Cyprus Problem,” as the conflict between the Greek and Turkish communities is referred to, originating in the late 19th century during the British colonial area. What are some other countries that have faced, and continue to face, similar kinds of conflict as a remnant of colonial rule? How have these conflicts evolved, intensified, or been resolved over time?

4. Literary Analysis

Dive into the book’s structure, characters, themes, and symbolism.

• The fig tree is an integral part of the novel narratively and thematically. How does Shafak use the tree, and other similar elements, to effectively weave an ecocentric perspective on life and human conflict?
• Why do you think Kostas was able to eventually move forward from the trauma of conflict in his motherland, while Defne remains mired in and eventually succumbs to her pain? How much of their contrasting approaches to their past trauma comes from their differing life experiences, and how much is a function of who they inherently are as people?
• Both Kostas and Defne’s and Yiorgos and Yusuf’s stories explore the idea of forbidden love, a theme that has been written about in literature since time immemorial. Why do you think this is still such a resonant theme even in contemporary times? What fresh take does Shafak offer on it?
• Shafak suggests that “human-time” and “tree-time” are incompatible. How does the novel simultaneously showcase the power of storytelling in reconciling this incompatibility?

5. Creative Engagement

Encourage imaginative and creative connections to the book.

• Food is an important recurring motif in the story and becomes a way for Meryam to introduce Ada to her culture. What are some dishes that offer you a connection to your culture? What personal memories do they each evoke for you?
• If you had to choose one non-human entity to witness and narrate your life story, which one would it be, and why?

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