'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.

About the Author
Dr Nussaibah Younis is a peacebuilding practitioner and a globally recognised expert on contemporary Iraq. For several years, she advised the Iraqi government on proposed programs to de-radicalise women affiliated with ISIS. She studied at Oxford, Durham and Harvard Universities, and has a PhD in International Affairs. Dr Younis was a Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council in Washington DC, where she directed the Task Force on the Future of Iraq. She has published Op-Eds in the Wall Street Journal, the Guardian, and the New York Times. She was born in the UK to an Iraqi father and a Pakistani mother, and currently lives in London.

Reviews
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 *
Absolutely hilarious - a Muslim Fleabag * Michelle Gallen, author of Big Girl, Small Town *
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 *
Clever and thoughtful: passionate but clear-eyed, confronting but nuanced, enlightening and. . . very funny * Caroline Hulse, author of Reasonable People *
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 *



Book Information
ISBN 9781399623926
Author Nussaibah Younis
Format Hardback
Page Count 256
Imprint Weidenfeld & Nicolson
Publisher Orion Publishing Co