The Island of Missing Trees

Shafak’s novel of a Greek Cypriot and a Turkish Cypriot divided by the 1974 partition of Cyprus, narrated in part by a fig tree that is carried from the island to London.

Why it’s on the list: Named in the replies to @moseskagan asking what historical fiction to read next — a crowd-sourced list Kyle recovered by hand and saved.

Where I saw it: In the replies to @moseskagan asking “What historical fiction should I read next? (Bonus points for something involving building or trade, rather than violence)” (April 13, 2025). Kyle recovered the reply list by hand and saved it to his “Books To Read” Apple Note; the full transcribed list lives on What historical fiction should I… (tweet).

Connections

• What historical fiction should I… (tweet) — the thread this came out of; the full recovered list lives there.
• Historical Fiction — the genre the thread was asking about.