THE ISLAND OF MISSING TREES

Narrators Daphne Kouma and Amira Ghazalla work together to create this intergenerational and multicultural story of love and loss in war-torn Cyprus. The pair represent Defne and her daughter, Ada, two women who grew up in very different environments. Kouma and Ghazalla give a dreamy feel to this novel, which is first set on an idyllic island and then moves to the urban environment of London. Kouma portrays the young Defne as she falls in love with Kostas, a man who is forbidden because he is Greek. Listeners will soak up Kouma's delivery of the figurative language that depicts the lovers' trysts beneath a watchful fig tree. Ghazalla elicits sympathy for Ada, who is trying to trace her roots. Fans of Shafak's work will fall in love all over again. M.R. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine [Published: JANUARY 2022]