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shhh_tamis_reading's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I adored all of the characters, especially the Fig Tree. In fact the chalets narrated by the Fig Tree may be my favorites. The entire book comes together with sacred beauty.
I also now want to learn more about Cyprus which I was ignorant of before. I appreciate the author’s book list at the back of the book.
Moderate: Addiction, Child death, Chronic illness, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Hate crime, Mental illness, Sexual content, Suicide, Violence, Xenophobia, Religious bigotry, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Cultural appropriation, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
griernotgruyere's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Xenophobia, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Abandonment, and War
Moderate: Alcoholism, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Addiction
caleb_makes's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Grief, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Drug use, Gun violence, Abortion, Death of parent, and Alcohol
Minor: Cursing, Miscarriage, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Islamophobia, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Cultural appropriation, Abandonment, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail
cinnamonpizza8's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Death, Hate crime, and Grief
Moderate: Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Genocide, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Suicide, Violence, Xenophobia, Islamophobia, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, War, and Injury/Injury detail
achingallover's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Bullying, Child death, Death, Hate crime, Mental illness, Racism, Violence, Blood, Islamophobia, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail
rieviolet's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Also, the final revelation left me a bit perplexed, I was not expecting it and I think that it added an ulterior element of magical realism that felt a bit like too much.
Still, the writing style was really good, maybe just at times it felt a bit overdone, that is overly sentimental for my taste or going a bit overboard with the metaphors.
Overall it was a nice reading experience, that taught me a lot about the natural world and about a time and place that I knew nothing about.
Also, please give me an entire book on Yiorgos and Yusuf's backstory (*crying in extreme sadness*).
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Gun violence, Violence, Abortion, Murder, and War
Moderate: Alcoholism, Bullying, Child death, Drug abuse, Homophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Xenophobia, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, and Colonisation
Minor: Cancer, Infidelity, Rape, Sexual content, Suicide, and Torture
katewhite77's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
A book abort war , tribalism and intergenerational trauma. Grief. loss and the damage we are doing to our planet. Also a stark reminder of how brutal and excruciating teenaghood can be.
This book is beautifully and poetically written. As someone who carers deeply about what is happening about the planet but who finds the subject of climate change quite impenetrable at times this story is a useful entry point into to thinking about these important issues as it goes beyond bare statistics and gives nature a voice.
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child death, Genocide, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Grief, Religious bigotry, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, and War
profdevochka's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Child death, Death, Drug use, Hate crime, Mental illness, Racism, Violence, Xenophobia, Islamophobia, Grief, Religious bigotry, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Murder, and War
lena_loves_reading's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
“A map is a two-dimensional representation with arbitrary symbols and incised lines that decide who is to be our enemy and who is to be our friend, who deserves our love and who deserves our hatred and who, our sheer indifference. Cartography is another name for stories told by winners. For stories told by those who have lost, there isn’t one.”
I have a deep respect for Elif Shafak, her work and opinions, even if I don't agree with all of them. I could see her beliefs and love/ appreciation of culture in this novel. Me being a biology nerd, I loved the wonderful facts about nature, especially trees. While I thought it weird at first for this novel to be told from the first-person POVs of a fig tree, I fell in love with the descriptions of her tree life.
I have to admit, I didn't know much about Cyprus before reading this novel. I knew it's an island between Europe and the middle east with Greek and Turkish inhabitants, yes, but I didn't know that it once belonged to the British Empire or about the bloody civil war. I didn't know that it remains divided to this day. I love learning about other countries through books so I loved how much culture, sayings and superstitions can be found in this novel.
Why rate it 4 stars then? Important, nuanced books always make my brain feel like it has to work when reading a book (it did: to keep track of the timelines, to remember all the characters, to understand what was going on in Cyprus,...) and that always makes me thinks “Urgh, I don't want to adult, give me a YA contemporary right now!” Furthermore, the pace is quite slow and made the book feel longer than it is.
Moderate: Alcoholism, Child death, Racism, Suicide, Religious bigotry, and Murder
eve81's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Hate crime, Homophobia, Suicide, Violence, Islamophobia, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, and War