Join our host David Hartman and fellow Columbia alumni as the book club discusses The Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shafak, a selection from our book club member Georgia Fountoulakis.

Two teenagers, a Greek Cypriot and a Turkish Cypriot, meet at a taverna on the island they both call home. In the taverna, hidden beneath garlands of garlic, chili peppers and creeping honeysuckle, Kostas and Defne grow in their forbidden love for each other. A fig tree stretches through a cavity in the roof, and this tree bears witness to their hushed, happy meetings and eventually, to their silent, surreptitious departures. A moving, beautifully written, and delicately constructed story of love, division, transcendence, history, and eco-consciousness.

“The Island of Missing Trees isn’t just a cleverly constructed novel; it’s explicitly about the way stories are constructed, the way meaning is created, and the way devotion persists. Shafak is that rare alchemist who can mix grains of tragedy and delight without diminishing the savor of either. The results may sometimes feel surreal, but this technique allows her to capture the impossibly strange events of real life.” - Ron Charles, The Washington Post

Date: Thursday, February 23, 2023

Time: 6:30 p.m. Central, 7:30 p.m. Eastern, 4:30p.m. Pacific

Location: Zoom Video Conference

Cost: Free