Fundamentally - Hardcover

by Nussaibah Younis (Author)

A wickedly funny and audacious debut novel following an academic who flees from heartbreak and lands in Iraq with a one-of-a-kind job offer--only to be forced to do the work of confronting herself.

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When Nadia Amin, a witty and bighearted PhD, publishes an article on deradicalization, everything changes. The United Nations comes calling with an opportunity to put her theory into practice and lead a rehabilitation program for women caught in the crosshairs of harmful ideology. And why not? Abandoned by her mother and devastated by unrequited love, she leaps at the chance.

In Iraq, Nadia quickly realizes she's in over her head. The UN is a mess of competing interests, and her team consists 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. But then Nadia meets Sara, a hilarious, foul-mouthed East Londoner who was pulled into radicalism at just fifteen. The two are kindred spirits, and Nadia vows to get Sara home.

As the rehabilitation program picks up traction, Sara reveals a secret that upends everything, forcing Nadia to make a drastic choice. In the fallout, Nadia's brown-savior fantasies crumble, leaving her to wonder if she can save someone who doesn't want to be saved.

A fierce, wildly funny, and razor-sharp exploration of radicalism, family, and the quest for belonging, Fundamentally boldly inspects one of the defining controversies of our age and introduces a fearless new voice in contemporary fiction.

Author Biography

Dr. Nussaibah Younis is a peace-building practitioner and a globally recognized expert on contemporary Iraq. She has a PhD in international affairs from Durham University in the UK 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 Future of Iraq Task Force and offered strategic advice to US government agencies on Iraq policy. Dr. Younis has published op-eds in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Guardian, and has provided on-air commentary for the BBC and Al Jazeera. She was born in the United Kingdom to an Iraqi father and a Pakistani mother, and currently lives in London.