''FUNNY, GRIPPING AND COMPASSIONATE'' DOLLY ALDERTON ''A REAL TREAT . . . BASICALLY BRIDGET JONES IN IRAQ'' THE TIMES ''THIS SMART, PUNCHY BOOK IS DESTINED TO SPARK CONVERSATION'' IRISH TIMES THE DEBUT EVERYONE IS TALKING ABOUT SHORTLISTED FOR THE WOMEN''S PRIZE FOR FICTION 2025 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. A bitingly original, wildly funny and razor-sharp exploration of love, family, religion and the decisions we make in pursuit of belonging, Fundamentally upends and explores a defining controversy of our age with heart, complexity and humour. ''TACKLES RADICALISM AND RACISM, FAITH AND FRIENDSHIP, WITH DEXTERITY, DEEP CARE AND A LARGE DOSE OF LAUGHTER'' GUARDIAN ''THE DEBUT OF THE YEAR'' STYLIST ''ORIGINAL, FUNNY AND FEARLESS'' NINA STIBBE

Autorentext
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.

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**SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2025 WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION

A TIMES, OBSERVER, INDEPENDENT, AND i PAPER BEST BOOK OF 2025
**
**'BRILLIANT' THE TIMES
'A WILDLY WITTY DEBUT' FINANCIAL TIMES
'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
'Funny, dirty and scathing truthful' HANIF KUREISHI
'Stunned me, moved me, made me laugh out loud' PANDORA SYKES
'Essential reading' JONATHAN COE
'A breath of fresh air' MARIAN KEYES
**'Original, funny and fearless' NINA STIBBE

WINNER OF THE COMEDY WOMEN IN PRINT BEST PUBLISHED BOOK AWARD
WINNER OF THE** COMEDY WOMEN IN PRINT PEOPLE'S CHOICE AWARD
SHORTLISTED FOR THE WILBUR SMITH ADVENTURE WRITING PRIZE
SHORTLISTED FOR THE BOLLINGER EVERYMAN WODEHOUSE PRIZE
SHORTLISTED FOR THE BOOKS ARE MY BAG READERS' AWARD
SHORTLISTED FOR THE SKY ARTS BREAKTHROUGH ARTIST OF THE YEAR