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| Author | Elif Shafak |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Publisher | Viking |
Publication date | 2021 |
| ISBN | 1635578590 |
The Island of Missing Trees is a 2021 novel by Turkish writer Elif Shafak. Set in Cyprus and London, it follows a romantic relationship between a Greek and Turkish Cypriot. [1] [2] [3] It was released by Viking press in 2021. [1]
The story has two timelines, one set in 2010s London following 16-year old Ada Kazantzakis, and the other mainly in 1970s Cyprus, following Defne and Kostas, Ada's parents. A third narrative voice is a fig tree, who lived in the middle of a tavern in Cyprus, before a cutting was taken by Kostas and planted in his and Defne's English garden. Ada's story looks at her grief with the loss of her mother, and her exploration of her cultural history, through her aunt Meryem's visit. The past follows the Turkish Cypriot Defne and Greek Cypriot Kostas falling in love on a divided island. Kostas is sent to London to live with his uncle, whilst Defne is left behind, with a secret. Through it all, the fig tree watches, offering insight into the characters’ past, the natural world, and the history of Cyprus.
Cyprus, officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, north of the Sinai Peninsula, south of the Anatolian Peninsula, and west of the Levant. It is geographically a part of West Asia, but its cultural ties and geopolitics are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the third-largest and third-most populous island in the Mediterranean. It is east of Greece, north of Egypt, south of Turkey, and west of Lebanon and Syria. Its capital and largest city is Nicosia. The northeast portion of the island is de facto governed by the self-declared Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.
The Progressive Party of Working People is a Marxist–Leninist communist party in Cyprus.
Relations between Greece and Turkey began in the 1830s following Greece's formation after its declaration of independence from the Ottoman Empire. Modern relations began when Turkey declared its formation in 1923 following the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in World War I.
The United Nations Buffer Zone in Cyprus is a demilitarized zone, patrolled by the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP), that was established on 4 March 1964, then extended on 9 August after the Battle of Tillyria and extended again in 1974 after the ceasefire of 16 August 1974, following the Turkish invasion of Cyprus, and the de facto partition of the island into the area controlled by the Republic of Cyprus and the largely unrecognized Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus in the north. The zone, also known as the Green Line, stretches for 180 kilometres from Paralimni in the east to Kato Pyrgos in the west, where a separate section surrounds Kokkina.
The Turkish invasion of Cyprus began on 20 July 1974 and progressed in two phases over the following month. Taking place upon a background of intercommunal violence between Greek and Turkish Cypriots, and in response to a Greek junta-sponsored Cypriot coup d'état five days earlier, it led to the Turkish capture and occupation of the northern part of the island.
Paralimni is a town within the Famagusta District of Cyprus, situated on the island's east coast. Since the Turkish invasion in 1974, it has increased in size and status, primarily due to the migration of refugees fleeing from the north. Many workers in the tourist sectors of Protaras and Ayia Napa live in Paralimni, which is now the temporary administrative centre of the Famagusta District and the biggest municipality of the district under the control of the Republic of Cyprus.
The 1974 Cypriot coup d'état was a military coup d'état executed by the Cypriot National Guard and sponsored by the Greek military junta. On 15 July 1974 the coup plotters removed the sitting President of Cyprus, Archbishop Makarios III, from office and installed pro-Enosis nationalist Nikos Sampson. The Sampson regime was described as a puppet state, whose ultimate aim was the annexation of the island by Greece; in the short term, the coupists proclaimed the establishment of the "Hellenic Republic of Cyprus". The coup was viewed as illegal by the United Nations.
Elif Shafak is a Turkish-British novelist, essayist, public speaker, political scientist and activist.
Several distinct periods of Cypriot intercommunal violence involving the two main ethnic communities, Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, marked mid-20th century Cyprus. These included the Cyprus Emergency of 1955–59 during British rule, the post-independence Cyprus crisis of 1963–64, and the Cyprus crisis of 1967. Hostilities culminated in the 1974 de facto division of the island along the Green Line following the Turkish invasion of Cyprus. The region has been relatively peaceful since then, but the Cyprus dispute has continued, with various attempts to solve it diplomatically having been generally unsuccessful.
The British Cypriot community in the United Kingdom consists of British people born on, or with ancestors from, the Eastern Mediterranean island of Cyprus. British Cypriot people may be of Greek, Turkish, Maronite, or Armenian descent.
Asi is a Turkish television drama series. The series originally aired from July 21, 2007, to June 15, 2009. It ran for two seasons on Kanal D.
Cypriot literature covers literature from Cyprus found mainly in Greek, Turkish, English and/or other languages, including French. The modern Cypriot Greek dialect belongs to the Southeastern group of Modern Greek dialects.
Bloody Christmas, in Turkish Cypriot and Turkish historiography, refers to the resumption of intercommunal violence between the Greek Cypriots and the Turkish Cypriots during the Cyprus crisis of 1963–64, on the night of 20–21 December 1963 and the subsequent period of island-wide violence amounting to civil war. This initial episode of violence lasted until 31 December and was somewhat subdued with the start of peace talks at the London Conference, but outbursts of violence continued thereafter. The violence precipitated the end of Turkish Cypriot representation in the Republic of Cyprus.
The Bastard of Istanbul is a 2006 novel by Elif Shafak, written originally in English and published by Viking Adult. It was translated by Aslı Biçen into her native language Turkish under the title Baba ve Piç in March 2006, and became a bestseller.
The Forty Rules of Love is a novel written by the Turkish author Elif Shafak, Her interest in writing this book was influenced by the degree she received in Gender and Women’s Studies. The book was published in March 2009. It is about Maulana Jalal-Ud-Din, known as Rumi and his companion Shams Tabrizi. This book explains how Shams transformed a scholar into a Sufi (mystic) through love. More than 750,000 copies of this book were sold in Turkey and France.
Three Daughters of Eve is a 2016 novel by Turkish writer Elif Safak. In many places, the book was recalled and retitled Confused Quest. The book centres on a wealthy, middle-aged housewife, her childhood in Istanbul and her time as a student at Oxford University where she fell in love with a philosophy professor. It focuses on her categorizing her identity. The book was featured on several lists of "best books" in 2018.
Aslı Biçen is a Turkish novelist and translator.
Sardunya (Geranium) is a 2021 film portraying the trials and tribulations of 19-year-old Defne as she spends time with her father in the country following his stroke. The film starring İlayda Elif Elhih as Defne and Ali Seçkiner Alıcı as her father was written and directed by Cagil Bocut; his first feature length film. It was nominated for and won several awards such as at the Istanbul International Film Festival.
The Architect's Apprentice is a 2013 historical fiction novel by Elif Shafak, set in the 16th century Ottoman Empire. Shafak originally wrote the novel in English and assisted its translation into Turkish. It follows the fictional life of Jahan, an elephant keeper to Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent who later becomes an apprentice of Mimar Sinan.
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