It is official: Elif Shafak has made it onto my prestigious favourite authors list!

I expected this to be a short read, but it was packed densely with beautiful prose, that forced me to pause and reflect on every other page. This book is EXTREMELY well written on all fronts.

This book is a beautiful journey, with an adventurous structure that I welcomed with open arms. Firstly, you start at the end: the death of tequila leila, reliving her life as it flashes before her eyes. Then, the book explores everyone (yes everyone!) who is affected by her untimely passing. You hear about her dearest friends in her own words and why she values them, and then you experience their own perspectives, emotions and lives without her. 

Leila's friends (referred to as the five) are each living on the fringes of society in their own ways, all individuals with differing opinions and life experiences. They come together through the one certainty that they all have in common - their one mutual friend who unites them all in grief. It is a strong group of characters, who together are able to highlight the city they reside in through a perspective most important. Not the wealthy, but the refugees, the disabled, sex workers, trans women who make the city what it is.

Island of missing trees definitely had more of a direct personal link for me- but reading something so far away from my own experiences was fascinating, and this was informative in the most beautiful and creative way. This is a wonderful fictional tale with a sprinkling of truth- exploring grief, friendship, and chosen family, embedded in the background buzz of Istanbul.