Fundamentally

A wildly funny and razor-sharp exploration of love, family, religion and the decisions we make in pursuit of belonging.

'By normal, you mean like you? A slag with a saviour complex?'

Nadia is an academic who's been disowned by her puritanical mother and dumped by her lover, Rosy. 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.

Sara is a precocious and sweary East Londoner who joined ISIS at just fifteen.

Nadia is struck by how similar they are: both feisty and opinionated, from a Muslim background, with a shared love of Dairy Milk and rude pick-up lines. A powerful friendship forms between the two women, until a secret confession from Sara threatens everything Nadia has been working for.

Review

Shockingly funny . . . It stunned me, moved me, made me laugh out loud ― Pandora Sykes

Impossible not to love ― Caitlin Moran

Fundamentally is a rare thing. A genuinely funny book about an attempt to de-radicalise so-called Islamic state brides in Iraq. Incredibly funny, it's a real page turner. A brilliant novel ― Anita Rani, Woman's Hour

I defy anyone to read it and not have so many laugh out loud moments. It's funny, it's clever, it makes you think. Heartily recommend ― Fi Glover, Off Air

Absolutely devoured this. Funny, smart and a truly compelling plot about rehabilitating ISIS brides ― Cariad Lloyd

Not only hysterically funny but trenchant and necessary. I loved it ― India Knight

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

Extremely fascinating, extremely jaw-dropping - and extremely funny ― Marina Hyde

Trenchant, funny and fearless ― Nina Stibbe

So deserving of all the hype and awards. Brutally brilliant ― Lauren Bravo

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

About the Author

Dr Nussaibah Younis is a peacebuilding practitioner and a globally recognised expert on contemporary Iraq. For several years, Nussaibah advised the Iraqi government on proposed programs to de-radicalise women affiliated with ISIS. She has a PhD in International Affairs from the University of Durham, and a BA in Modern History and English from the University of Oxford. Dr Younis was a Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council in Washington DC, where she directed the Task Force on the Future of Iraq and offered strategic advice to US government agencies on Iraq policy. She was a Post-Doctoral Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School's Belfer Center, and has published op-eds in The Wall Street Journal, the Guardian and the New York Times. She has worked in Washington D.C., Dubai, Cairo, Beirut and Baghdad and currently lives in London. Fundamentally is her debut novel.