Book club questions for The Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shafak explore some of life’s biggest questions about identity, history and meaning, as well as the challenges being uprooted, and the interconnectedness of all life.
What is the legacy of war? What creates generational trauma? How can we, as individuals, find our place in the big world?
The Island of Missing Trees is a Reese’s Book Club Pick for November 2021, and the winner of the 2022 BookTube Silver Medal in Fiction. It is a rich, magical novel on belonging and identity, love and trauma, nature and renewal. A story that’s not only magnetic in prose, but deeply thought-provoking, while remaining quietly profound.
About The Island of Missing Trees
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.
Book Club Questions for The Island of Missing Trees
- How is grief depicted throughout the book? What or who does each character grieve? Do you agree with Meryem’s view that we rename grief out of fear?
- What is the significance of butterflies in the story? What do they symbolize? Are there other natural symbols, and what do they signify?
- Discuss the fig tree’s view that humans are scared of happiness. Are humans afraid of happiness? How do the characters in the book sabotage or embrace joy?
- Analyze the quote, “Some day this pain will be useful to you” (page 307). How do characters use their pain to grow or contribute to the world? Can pain be both useful and destructive?
- What is Shafak’s message about borders, belonging, and humanity? Are borders necessary or arbitrary? How do Defne and Kostas grapple with these concepts?
- What does Ada’s scream represent? How does the novel address gender inequality and discrimination? Highlight moments showcasing the strength or struggle of women.
- Discuss the theme of interconnectedness and symbiosis in the book. What can we learn from our connection to the natural world and our past?
- Reflect on Defne’s death. Was it due to an invisible illness or lack of love? How does society prioritize physical pain over psychological pain?
- What does the novel say about healing? Compare the different approaches to healing by Defne, Kostas, Meryem, and Ada.
- How do characters mourn or celebrate their homeland, Cyprus? Are any able to overcome their loss? How do we say goodbye to our roots?
- Why does Defne choose to remain close to life as a fig tree? How does this shift our understanding of the fig tree’s story?
- Compare the love stories of Yiorgos and Yusuf, and Defne and Kostas. How did they maintain their bonds despite fear and trauma? Can love be passed through generations like trauma?
- How do we determine what is true when a story is told from many perspectives? Is the natural world unbiased? Is the fig tree a narrator or a character?
- What are your favorite moments when the fig tree or nature communicates with humans? How did Shafak’s portrayal of the fig tree change your view of the natural world?
- Discuss how generational trauma impacts a character. How does inherited pain differ from contemporary suffering? By the end of the novel, has Ada had an opportunity to heal?
Additional Recommendations
Love in Color by Bolu Babalola

A high-born Nigerian goddess, who has been beaten down and unappreciated by her gregarious lover, longs to be truly seen. A young businesswoman attempts a great leap in her company, and an even greater one in her love life. A powerful Ghanaian spokeswoman is forced to decide whether she should uphold her family’s politics or be true to her heart.
In her debut collection, internationally acclaimed writer Bolu Babalola retells the most beautiful love stories from history and mythology with incredible new detail and vivacity. Focusing on the magical folktales of West Africa, Babalola also reimagines Greek myths, ancient legends from the Middle East, and stories from long-erased places.
With an eye towards decolonizing tropes inherent in our favorite tales of love, Babalola has created captivating stories that traverse across perspectives, continents, and genres. Love in Color is a celebration of romance in all its many splendid forms.
Just Like Magic by Sarah Hogle

Bettie Hughes once knew the comfort of luxury, flaunting a collection of designer purses and an enviable dream home in Hawaii. That was before she lost all her money. Long obsessed with her public image, Bettie boasts an extravagant lifestyle on social media. But the reality is Bettie is broke and squatting in Colorado, and her family has no idea.
Christmas, with its pressure to meet familial expectations, is looming when Bettie plays a vinyl record of “All I Want for Christmas Is You” backward and accidentally conjures up Hall, the Holiday Spirit, in the form of a charming and handsome (if offbeat) man. Once the shock wears off, Bettie knows she’s stumbled upon the greatest gift: a chance to make all her holiday wishes come true, plus a ready-made fiancé.
But as some of Bettie’s wishes lose their charm, she finds herself thrown off-kilter by Hall’s sweet nature. Suddenly, grumpy Bettie is finding her heart merry and light. But the happier she gets, the shorter Hall’s time on earth grows. Can Bettie channel the Christmas spirit and learn to live with goodwill toward all men? Or will her selfish ways return as soon as the holidays are over?
Happy reading! ❤️
I love to read and I enjoy exploring a range of genres including contemporary and historical fiction, mysteries, thrillers, nonfiction, and memoirs. If you would like me to review your book, feel free to reach out to me!