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joanna_banana'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 cruelty, Animal death, Death, Grief, Death of parent, Alcohol, and War
Moderate: Gun violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Suicide, Xenophobia, Religious bigotry, Abortion, and Pregnancy
Minor: Hate crime and Homophobia
nebelbaer's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Violence and War
Minor: Alcoholism, Death, Gun violence, Suicide, and Death of parent
divinehealer14's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
The choice of giving a fig tree personality and perspective was truly unique and fascinating to me, and I was deeply interested and mesmerised by the lyrical witty observations on nature and humanity, and how they intertwine. Truly a wonderful book, and a necessary one
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Abortion, Pregnancy, and War
now_booking'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? It's complicated
4.5
This novel focuses on the love story of Kostas and Defne, star-crossed Greek and Turkish Cypriot lovers whose devotion to each other is tested by the violent conflict that emerges in 1974. Despite their commitment to putting the past behind them and moving forward, years later, their teen daughter Ada’s breakdown in the middle of a history class brings past traumas once again to the fore.
This is my first book by this author and I’m not sure how she accomplished a book that was simultaneously heartbreaking and healing, how she managed to make the reader feel part of the story even though we were jumping timelines and perspectives between the tree, the characters, the plot versus the tree’s commentary…. It was brilliant and incredibly well-executed. I think the thing that makes this a little less than 4 stars for me is the inevitable fact that I could have done with a little more character development and a little more connective plot… I wanted more Ada, more Meryem, more Kostas… even more Defne… this was a very introspective sort of book where the characters often felt very isolated and the story mainly existed in their thoughts and reflections. For a book such as this that speaks to the interconnectedness and community of Cypriot people and more broadly of the interconnectedness of humanity and nature, the characters had little dialogue with each other and for me that would have been an opportunity to get to know them better. I recognize and the author points out (through the omniscient fig tree) that in reality unlike in fiction, we rarely know everything about characters or have the complete tale with all plot holes filled, rather we have bits and pieces of story, hints and allusions, gaps we have to fill in ourselves and information we have to content ourselves with never knowing, and this book feels very much like that. And I can accept this argument, but that left so much unsaid in the book (as it often is in life, but in a book you want to see it said- tangent: I also find it difficult to accept that Meryem came to stay in Kostas’ house and they never have a proper conversation that we can observe).
That said this is so beautifully written. The proverbs and aphorisms are so apt, the reflections on human experiences of conflict, survival, migration, trauma, healing and what it means to be far from home spoke for anyone who has ever experienced the out-of-body feeling of trying to feel at home and at peace in a situation which is far from that. I found myself highlighting swathes of this book and I know it’s one I won’t forget soon. I plan to check out more books by this author.
Graphic: Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Outing, Abandonment, and War
Moderate: Alcoholism, Mental illness, and Abortion
Minor: Sexism and Suicide
kaanda'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? It's complicated
4.75
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Violence, Xenophobia, Grief, Abortion, Death of parent, Abandonment, and War
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Hate crime, Homophobia, Racism, Sexism, Suicide, Murder, and Pregnancy
Minor: Gun violence, Misogyny, Sexual content, Colonisation, and Classism
mr_cain'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
5.0
Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Death, Violence, Xenophobia, Grief, Alcohol, Colonisation, and War
Moderate: Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Police brutality, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Alcoholism and Torture
sammirosewater'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
3.5
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Blood, Grief, and Death of parent
neela's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
once you get used to the points of view ( you know who i mean ;)) this is a lovely lovely book so well thought out and didn’t realise how well thought until reading the real life sources
such a cool way for me to learn a bit about cypriot history
also the writing style is so descriptive in a really thoughtful way idk
she just really thought about how to write this story u guys!!!!
Graphic: Gun violence and Xenophobia
taytots24's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Child death, Death of parent, and War
Moderate: Ableism, Alcoholism, Gun violence, Suicide, Police brutality, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
ariromi's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child death, Death, Mental illness, Religious bigotry, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, and War
Minor: Gun violence, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Rape, Blood, Pregnancy, and Pandemic/Epidemic