A razor-sharp comedy about a very serious subject, Younis' electrifying debut novel pitches academic Nadia into a UN job rehabilitating ISIS women, one of whom she forms a problematic bond with.
'By normal, you mean like you? A slag with a saviour complex?'
When academic Nadia is disowned by her puritanical mother and dumped by her lover, she decides to make a getaway - accepting a UN job in Iraq. Tasked with rehabilitating ISIS women, Nadia becomes mired in the opaque world of international aid, surrounded by bumbling colleagues.
But then Nadia meets Sara, a precocious and sweary East Londoner who joined ISIS at just fifteen, and she is struck by how similar their stories are. Both from a Muslim background, both feisty and opinionated, with a shared love of Dairy Milk and rude pick-up lines, Sara and Nadia immediately connect and a powerful friendship forms. When Sara confesses a secret, Nadia is forced to make a difficult choice.
A bitingly original, wildly funny and razor-sharp exploration of love, family, religion, radicalism, and the decisions we make in pursuit of connection and belonging, Fundamentally upends and explores a defining controversy of our age with heart, complexity and humour - delivered by one of the most fearless and talented new voices in contemporary fiction.
Publisher: Orion Publishing Co
ISBN: 9781399623926
Number of pages: 336
Dimensions: 240 x 156 mm
Funny, gripping and compassionate; Fundamentally is a truly original novel that you won't be able to put down - Dolly Alderton
I really, REALLY loved it - the voice, the setting, the plot, all of it. It's original, warm, funny and engaging. A breath of fresh air - Marian Keyes
Younis is a fantastic comic writer: caustic, pitiless, unafraid, with razor-sharp powers of observation. The book is laugh-out-loud funny, and many of the jokes, besides being hilarious, are jaw-dropping in their audacity... Fundamentally is certainly a wild ride, but besides being one of the most entertaining novels I've read in a long while, it will also leave you deeply moved and (incidentally) much better informed than you were before about one of the key political crises of our time. Essential reading. - Jonathan Coe
Tart, tender, trenchant, and hilarious, Fundamentally is a brilliant novel about faith and friendship that refuses to be any one single thing -- because it is EVERYTHING. Nussaibah Younis is a genius - Catherine Newman, New York Times bestselling author of Sandwich
Not only hysterically funny but trenchant and necessary. I loved it - India Knight
An absolute riot of a novel. The humour is so sharp you could cut yourself and the action does not stop. Underneath all that though lies some serious topics, deftly handled, and boy, did I get some of my own thinking challenged. Loved it - Jennie Godfrey, author of The List of Suspicious Things
I loved Fundamentally. I laughed all the way through . . . it's brilliantly done. It's impressive how the book combines elements of farce with such emotional depth and moral complexity. An incredibly accomplished debut. - Rebecca Wait, author of I'm Sorry You Feel That Way
I loved this. Laugh out loud funny, outrageous and thought provoking - a winning combination. The compassion at its heart is huge. Nussaibah's experience shines through the page. Best use of fiction I know, to educate and encourage empathy while entertaining the reader so much they don't realise. Highly recommend - Harriet Tyce, author of Blood Orange
Impossibly funny whilst darkly probing, Fundamentally is the whole package: a raunchy, irreverent, touching, and daring debut with slicing commentary wrapped in bold, biting humour. It slyly and systematically rejects our swallowed concepts of heroes and who is correct, and posits instead the better question: what is right? - Parini Shroff, author of The Bandit Queens
A white-hot critique of international aid, with side-splitting prose - Nicola Dinan, author of Bellies
Clever and thoughtful: passionate but clear-eyed, confronting but nuanced, enlightening and. . . very funny - Caroline Hulse, author of Reasonable People
Bold yet subtle, witty and constantly surprising: such an impressive debut - Charlotte Mendelson, author of The Exhibitionist
An utterly fascinating read. A brilliant book that compels you to turn the page, moves you emotionally, and makes you question everything you thought you knew. A must read. A deeply necessary book - Salma El-Wardany
Absolutely hilarious - a Muslim Fleabag - Michelle Gallen, author of Big Girl, Small Town
Overflowing with humour, humanity and compassion. This is such a timely novel that teaches us that there's always more than meets the eye. The prose is stark and laugh out loud funny whilst stopping to pull at your heartstrings when you least expect. Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous - Lucy Rose, author of The Lamb
Fundamentally by Nussaibah Younis is one of the very best debut novels I've ever read. This is an author whose prose, humour and morality are wildly imaginative and brave in a way I feel both shaken and seen by. It's a whole new kind of book and how often can you say that? It is a spectacular achievement - so funny, so imaginative. - Emma Forrest
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