Fundamentally
Shortlisted for the 2025 Women's Prize for Fiction
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Fundamentally
Narrated by:
Sarah Slimani
Buy Now for €18.94
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Narrated by:
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Sarah Slimani
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By:
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Nussaibah Younis
'A NEW NAME TO WATCH OUT FOR' THE TIMES
'THE DEBUT OF THE YEAR' STYLIST
'ELECTRIC' GUARDIAN
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.
'Funny, gripping and compassionate' DOLLY ALDERTON
'Not only hysterically funny but trenchant and necessary. I loved it' INDIA KNIGHT
'A raunchy, irreverent, touching and daring debut' PARINI SHROFF
'Essential reading' JONATHAN COE
'A breath of fresh air' MARIAN KEYES
'Original, funny and fearless' NINA STIBBE©2025 Prospect Peace Ltd
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Critics' reviews
Shockingly funny . . . It stunned me, moved me, made me laugh out loud
Impossible not to love
One of the best debut novels I've read in years. Funny, dirty and scathingly truthful
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
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
Absolutely devoured this. Funny, smart and a truly compelling plot about rehabilitating ISIS brides
Not only hysterically funny but trenchant and necessary. I loved it
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
Extremely fascinating, extremely jaw-dropping - and extremely funny
Trenchant, funny and fearless
So deserving of all the hype and awards. Brutally brilliant
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
A white-hot critique of international aid, with side-splitting prose
Wise, chilling and hilarious, profound and preposterous. The best book I've read this year on the joy, delusions, missteps and precious idealism of our interventions
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
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
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.
A wildly witty debut read . . . Nadia's voice is a quicksilver delight
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
Just a really good story !
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Intensiv, packend, empfehlenswert
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Thus starts the novel and it takes the reader on a whirlwind ride behind the news reports. What happened in Iraq and with ISIS? How come so many “good” girls flocked there to become eventually trapped as wives of ISIS workers? Should they be allowed back to their home countries? How do UN people live and work in war zones? How do officials, diplomats and journalists work behind the scenes? What motivates and keeps people working in such environments?
Nadia is an outsider, and she has a few chips on her shoulder. She wants to make a difference with her program and really cares about the fates of the forgotten ISIS brides. Then she becomes deeply affected by the fate of East Londoner Sara who joined ISIS at 15. Sassy, abandoned and desperate, she reminds Nadia of herself and she does everything to help her.
The novel asks interesting questions about truth, morality and rights. Nothing is ever clear, who is truly innocent or a victim?
I liked the humour, tone, pace and ambiguity of this novel, it kept me hooked and left me thinking and researching afterwards. Highly recommended.
Fresh, thought-provoking and irreverent
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Accurate descriptions of Iraq and the web around it, otherwise disappointing
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