Author:Elif Shafak
Two teenagers, a Greek Cypriot and a Turkish Cypriot, meet at a taverna on the island they both call home. The taverna 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, memory and amnesia, human-induced destruction of nature, and, finally, renewal.
An outstanding work of breathtaking beauty
—— Lemn SissayA writer of important, beautiful, painful, truthful novels
—— Marian KeyesLovely heartbreaker of a novel centered on dark secrets of civil wars & evils of extremism: Cyprus, star-crossed lovers, killed beloveds, damaged kids
—— Margaret Atwood on TwitterElif Shafak is a unique and powerful voice in world literature
—— Ian McEwanOne of the best writers in the world today
—— Hanif KureishiA 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, author of Utopia AvenueAn absorbing novel
—— Sunday ExpressLawson has carved out a world in Northern Ontario that's vividly, absorbingly real... Carries you along from midnight to dawn, oblivious of the time
—— Literary ReviewA Town Called Solace keeps you breathless with anxiety, then relief and finally even joy
—— Ferdinand Mount , ObserverClose to perfection
—— The TimesBeautifully written and so finely crafted; told in the kind of prose I most admire because it takes what appears to be complicated and makes it clear . . . These interwoven stories of three people at different stages of life, and yet each struggling with their own form of loss and grief, will stay with me the way good friendships stay with you. It's already one of my favourite books of the year
—— Rachel JoyceMary Lawson writes with a pure simplicity... she has the God-given ability to convey the complexities of human nature in everyday language... It was only on a second reading that I came to realise quite how intricately plotted A Town Called Solace is: like a magician, Lawson hides her technique, and makes it all seem as natural as breathing... she possesses an instinctive feel for when to withhold information, and when to release it
—— Craig Brown , Mail on SundayLawson's books are a pleasure to read - they conjure a space where quiet reflection and owning your past mistakes bring gentle rewards; they feel kind and wise and brimful of empathy
—— Siobhan Murphy , The TimesThis is Mary Lawson's fourth novel and I'd recommend a binge immersion... Lawson has carved out a world in Northern Ontario that's vividly, absorbingly real; she captures tones and voices with exactitude in writing that's idiomatic but never flashy and carries you along from midnight to dawn, oblivious of the time.
—— Nooni Minogue , Literary ReviewPoised, elegant prose, paired with quiet drama that will break your heart. The sort of book that seems as if it has always existed because of its timeless perfection
—— Graham NortonYou can't get much farther north than the Ontario of Mary Lawson's icy, compelling stories of calamity and redemption. A Town Called Solace keeps you breathless with anxiety, then relief and finally even joy
—— Ferdinand Mount , ObserverClose to perfection
—— Christina Hardyment , The Times, *Audiobooks of the Year*Lawson's writing is clear and emotive... In this poignant novel, rightfully recognised by the Booker judges, the steadfastness of children brings solace to lost grown-ups
—— Francesca Carington , Sunday Telegraph, *Novel of the Week*There's a beauty and simplicity in her [Lawson's] stories set in small-town Canada
—— Nina Pottell , PrimaAnne Tyler is a big fan of this Canadian author and so am I
—— Good HousekeepingA lovely, gentle novel with edge, worthy of Anne Tyler
—— SagaLawson's writing is such that it appears effortless but, as all the strands come together to create a rich and satisfying tapestry, her genius for storytelling becomes apparent.
—— Irish IndependentCompletely absorbing... A Town Called Solace pleases at every level. It's a captivating tale suffused with wisdom and compassion
—— Brett Josef Grubisic , Toronto Star[In A Town Called Solace] doubts, difficulties and uncertainties of the human condition are examined carefully in a way that is both heartbreaking and joyful
—— Bridie Pritchard , UK Press SyndicationSubtle and darkly funny, this tender novel unspools the interconnected lives of her beautifully drawn characters, as they grapple with grief and loss, while steadfastly hoping for a change of happiness in the face of life's uncertainties
—— Eithne Farry , UK Press Syndication[Lawson] writes an unpretentious prose that zings with metaphorical vim and humour
—— Tablet, *Summer Reads of 2021*Exquisitely poignant
—— Liane Moriarty , Good Housekeeping[An] absorbing novel
—— Sunday Express, *Summer Reads of 2022*
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