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Fundamentally
Fundamentally: A Novel | Nussaibah Younis
11 posts | 8 read | 2 reading | 20 to read
A wickedly funny and audacious debut novel following an academic who flees from heartbreak and lands in Iraq with an insane job offeronly to be forced to do the work of confronting herself. When Dr. Nadia Amin, a long-suffering academic, publishes an article on the possibility of rehabilitating ISIS brides, the United Nations comes calling, offering an opportunity to lead a deradicalization program for the ISIS-affiliated women held in Iraqi refugee camps. Looking for a way out of London after a painful, unexpected breakup, Nadia leaps at the chance. In Iraq, Nadia quickly realizes shes in over her head. Her direct reports are hostile and unenthused about taking orders from an obvious UN novice, and the murmurs of deradicalization being inherently unethical and possibly illegal threaten to end Nadias UN career before it even begins. Frustrated by her situation and the unrelenting heat, Nadia decides to visit the camp with her sullen team, composed of Goody Two-shoes Sherri who never passes up an opportunity to remind Nadia of her objections; and Pierre, a snippy Frenchman who has no qualms about perpetually scrolling through Grindr. At the camp, after a clumsy introductory session with the ISIS women, Nadia meets Sara, one of the younger refugees, whose accent immediately gives her away as a fellow East Londoner. From their first interaction, Nadia feels inexplicably drawn to the rude girl in the diamant headscarf. She leaves the camp determined to get Sara home. But the system Nadia finds herself trapped in is a quagmire of inaction and corruption. One accomplishment barely makes a dent in Nadias ultimate goal of freeing Sara . . . and the other women, too, of course. And so, Nadia makes an impossible decision leading to ramifications she could have never imagined. A triumph of dark humor, Fundamentally asks bold questions: Who can tell someone what to believe? And how do you save someone who doesnt want to be saved?
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blurb
Suet624
Fundamentally: A Novel | Nussaibah Younis
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I don‘t do this very often - just sit in a coffee shop taking up space and reading - but this Vermont gray weather requires that I do this today.

squirrelbrain Enjoy! ☺️ 2d
Suet624 @squirrelbrain thanks! This endless winter is starting to get to me but the book is making me chuckle. 2d
ChaoticMissAdventures This is the hardest time of year, spring/summer is so close but so far away!! 2d
See All 15 Comments
BarbaraBB This was an interesting read I think! 2d
Leftcoastzen Looks lovely! Lots of cards 1d
Reggie This is me and books and hole in the wall Mexican restaurants. You go Sue! You take up that space and read. 1d
sarahbarnes You deserve to take up space and read! Hope you enjoyed it. 1d
Gissy Yes, sometimes is good to change the reading spot, explore other places where we can read📚😃👌 1d
Suet624 @BarbaraBB I still have a book hangover from my last read but I'm enjoying the lighthearted nature of it so far. 21h
Suet624 @Leftcoastzen Yes, we have lots of little coffeeshops around here with lots of cute cards and knickknacks. It's high time I frequent more of them. (edited) 21h
Suet624 @Reggie Thanks, Reggie. You've made me think I should start traveling around Vermont and reading in all the little nook and cranny coffee shops around here. 21h
Suet624 @sarahbarnes Thanks, Sarah! I did enjoy it. :) 21h
Suet624 @Gissy You're absolutely right. 21h
AnneCecilie Looking forward to your thoughts on the book (edited) 17h
47 likes1 stack add15 comments
review
rmaclean4
Fundamentally: A Novel | Nussaibah Younis
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Pickpick

##womensprizeforfiction I am surprised this made the short list. It is a story unlike any I have read before. I found the tone super uneven. I liked it but did not love it. 3.5 🌟

blurb
squirrelbrain
Fundamentally: A Novel | Nussaibah Younis
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An article from today‘s Observer magazine, covering the Fundamentally author‘s background and her reasons for turning to stand-up comedy and comedic writing.

I found this rather interesting and, having just finished the book, it definitely added context.

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2025/mar/30/the-death-of-my-friend-insp...

BarbaraBB Thanks. That‘s very interesting 6d
56 likes1 comment
review
squirrelbrain
Fundamentally: A Novel | Nussaibah Younis
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Pickpick

I‘m torn on this one. At first I found it wickedly funny and irreverent, but later on the MC acted really immaturely which served to diminish and over-simplify a really serious subject. (De-radicalisation of Isis brides)

I also felt that Islam was portrayed in a really negative way, with only 1 Muslim character having any redeeming features.

Ultimately, this is a pick, saved by its ending and the audacity in tackling the subject in such a way.

Jas16 I even more curious about this one now. 1w
CarolynM Your review makes me think of Yellowface - I wonder how much influence the publisher/editor had on it turning out that way? 1w
BarbaraBB I get what you mean. I agree on the subject being simplified by a too ignorant narrator. On Islam I am not sure, I think that‘s the point she wants to make - it is her pov and I assume it‘s her experience but I am not sure of that. 1w
See All 9 Comments
LeahBergen I‘m still intrigued! 1w
squirrelbrain I agree @BarbaraBB - I do think the author was making her point about Islam, but it concerned me that it wasn‘t nuanced enough and it would reinforce the views of readers who already have a negative perspective. (edited) 7d
squirrelbrain Interesting thought @CarolynM ! 🤔 I feel that the author has so much experience IRL of the subjects covered that it was her views alone. It would be interesting to know if the publishers tried to tone anything down though. 7d
squirrelbrain @Jas16 @LeahBergen - it‘s certainly like nothing I‘ve ever read and would provoke great discussions- would have been a good one for #camplitsy, don‘t you think @barbarabb ?! 7d
BarbaraBB @squirrelbrain Yes, it‘s a typical #CampLitsy book! Thinking about that longlist already 😇 6d
squirrelbrain So am I! @barbarabb 🤪 6d
65 likes9 comments
review
BarbaraBB
Fundamentally: A Novel | Nussaibah Younis
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Pickpick

#WP25 Book 4

This was a delightful read despite the heavy subject: the rehabilitation of ISIS women in a camp in Iraq.
It‘s a perfect job for Nadia, who‘s escaping a life of partying hard in London. She used to be Muslim but doesn‘t believe any longer. She feels like she should safe Sara, one of the ISIS brides, and needs the help of her UN colleagues. I can‘t really explain what makes this book funny yet poignant but it certainly is.

ChaoticMissAdventures This has been one of my favorites of this year's long list! So glad you liked it. 3w
TrishB Looking forward to it 👍🏻 3w
BarbaraBB @ChaoticMissAdventures @TrishB It‘s highly original and unexpected. And I loved Nadia‘s imperfections! 3w
See All 11 Comments
TheKidUpstairs I really enjoyed this one, glad you did too! Original and unexpected is a great description, it felt fresh! 3w
squirrelbrain Looking forward to this one! 3w
sarahbarnes I may have to try this one! Great review. 3w
LeahBergen Great review! I already have this stacked or I would have added it. 😆 3w
BarbaraBB @TheKidUpstairs Fresh says it all! 3w
BarbaraBB @squirrelbrain @sarahbarnes @LeahBergen I‘d be interested in what you‘ll think of it! 3w
Cathythoughts Agree with all these comments. ❤️ Stacked. 3w
CarolynM Sounds good. Stacked 🙂 3w
76 likes6 stack adds11 comments
review
BookishTrish
Fundamentally: A Novel | Nussaibah Younis
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Pickpick

Thanks #netgalley! I had zero expectation going into this Women‘s Prize longlister and was still surprised how much I liked it. A heartbroken young woman distracts herself from her feelings by taking a job with the UN rehabilitating ISIS brides. It‘s funny, and frustrating, and really made me think.

review
ChaoticMissAdventures
Fundamentally: A Novel | Nussaibah Younis
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Pickpick

Book 5 #WP25

I loved this!! The biting humor (jokes about Elizabeth Warren's 1/8 Cherokee claims, sandstorms being micro dermabrasion, and milkshakes for Nigel Farage) mixed with a more serious and deep ideas around the UN, aide workers, and extreme Islamists.
Younis worked in Iraq for 10 years as an aide worker. This unique perspective allows for the author to be one of the few who can accurately and compassionately tell this story.

ChaoticMissAdventures This truly is very funny, I laughed out loud a few times catching weird glances from people in my neighborhood 😂. I appreciate how diverse her characters are, she draws them realistically and lively. Her writing is straightforward but not stodgy and never cold. You can tell she cares very much for these women many of us rarely think of. 4.5/5⭐ 1mo
squirrelbrain Great review! 1mo
BarbaraBB Great review. I‘ll definitely read it too! 1mo
TrishB Ordered this yesterday 👍🏻 4w
51 likes3 stack adds4 comments
review
TheKidUpstairs
Fundamentally: A Novel | Nussaibah Younis
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Pickpick

Sharp, thoughtful, and darkly funny. Nadia is an academic who heads to Iraq to work with the UN on the deradicalization of ISIS brides, but also to run away from heartbreak and grapple with her own history with religion and rebellion. Fundamentally tackles ideas of religion, racism, belonging, bureaucracy and systemic failures within the foreign aid systems without prescribing answers, 👇 cont'd in comments

TheKidUpstairs ... instead presenting genuine, human characters trying to figure things out in the grey areas of life. A solid start to my #wpf25 long list reading! 1mo
Amor4Libros I loved this one!! 1mo
ChaoticMissAdventures I am about 1/3 in and loving this! So sharp and funny. 1mo
squirrelbrain Great - looking forward to this even more now! 1mo
BarbaraBB So much praise for this book. I must get my hands on a copy! 1mo
64 likes5 stack adds5 comments
blurb
ChaoticMissAdventures
Fundamentally: A Novel | Nussaibah Younis
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#WP25
“I was asked by the Iraqi government to design a program to deradicalize ISIS women. It got me thinking about my years as a religious teenager. When I was seventeen, I studied with the cleric Sheikh Anwar al-Awlaki, a Yemeni-American preacher who was smart, charming and inspiring. He later joined Al-Qaeda. I‘d always wondered what I‘d have done, in those naïve teenage years, had he tried to recruit me.“

ChaoticMissAdventures I am starting this book now on audio, and a couple of chapters in I am hooked. I found this interview quoted above on this oxford site: https://www.english.ox.ac.uk/spotlight-alumni-dr-nussaibah-younis

She is a doctor, she really did design a program to deradicalize ISIS women., and she is a globally recognized expert on contemporary Iraq.

How impressive!
1mo
dabbe Wowza! 🤩🙌🏻🤩 1mo
TheKidUpstairs Thanks for sharing the article. I'm just about finished this one and love it. You can tell how deeply she knows these characters, and the grey areas of their lives. And she is freakin' funny! 1mo
ChaoticMissAdventures @TheKidUpstairs so glad you liked it! I have it on audio and just got a few minutes in yesterday, but it is gorgeous here today so I can do some neighborhood walk and listens! 1mo
40 likes1 stack add4 comments
review
Amor4Libros
Fundamentally: A Novel | Nussaibah Younis
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Pickpick

This book was parts funny while dealing with a serious subject. I found that this approach taken by the author was the right one.

I loved Nadia and her eagerness to make a difference, while at the same time fighting with her own trauma. I am also glad that everything I thought I had figured out about Sara was way off the mark 😅

The secondary characters were also the right amount of great/complex/messed up to keep you on your toes.

4⭐️

Amor4Libros US Pub Date: 2/25/25 1mo
56 likes1 comment
review
TheEllieMo
Fundamentally: A Novel | Nussaibah Younis
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Pickpick

Finished this yesterday and have been trying to process my feelings about it since. It tackles some deep subjects with a levity that makes the book seem trite at times, but there are some dark themes running through the story so it needs some humour to lighten it. On the whole, I enjoyed it, and felt invested in the friendship between the two MCs, especially towards the end.

Book 7/60 #Read2025 @DieAReader
Book 7/5 #JumpStart2025 @Lizpixie

TheEllieMo Ran out of space to say this is #LetterF of #LitsyAtoZ @texreader 2mo
Texreader Fantastic!! Great review too 2mo
27 likes1 stack add2 comments