Fundamentally
“I’d heard that ISIS considered white converts to be the most desirable brides. Imagine fleeing Europe for the land of Islam, and you’re still second
fiddle to some white girl who’s lost control of her gap year.”
Title: Fundamentally
Author: Nussaibah Younis
Published: February 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.
Discussion Questions
Fundamentally explores the idea of belonging in many forms — personal, cultural, religious, and political. How do Nadia and Sara each struggle with and seek belonging in different ways?
The novel critiques the effectiveness of international aid and deradicalisation programs. How does Nadia’s experience in Iraq challenge her initial assumptions?
Nadia is a deeply complex protagonist — at times, she is self-assured, and at others, she is riddled with doubt. Did your feelings about her shift throughout the novel? If so, when and why?
Sara is presented as both sharp and skeptical, often pushing back against Nadia’s attempts to help her. How did their relationship evolve, and did you find yourself sympathising with one character over the other?
The novel highlights the power imbalances in both academia and activism. How does Nadia navigate these spaces, and what do her struggles reveal about the institutions she’s part of?
Nadia has a complicated relationship with her Muslim upbringing, describing her faith as something that once "nourished and sustained" her but later "curdled." How does the novel explore the tensions between faith, personal beliefs, and identity?
The book questions what justice looks like for women who joined ISIS but did not commit violent acts. Do you think the novel presents a clear stance on this issue, or does it leave the morality ambiguous?
Nadia is accused of having a "saviour complex”, do you think that criticism is fair? How does the novel challenge or reinforce narratives around Western intervention?
Younis blends sharp humour with weighty subject matter. How did this balance affect your reading experience? Were there moments where the humour made the themes more poignant or challenging?
The novel has been described as "bitingly original" and "razor-sharp." Were there particular passages or moments that stood out to you as especially impactful or thought-provoking?
By the end of the book, do you think Nadia has changed? What, if anything, has she learned about herself, her work, and the world around her?
How does Fundamentally challenge conventional narratives about radicalisation, activism, and redemption?
If you could ask Nussaibah Younis one question about this novel, what would it be?
Further Reading
Penguin Random House Book Club Kit: https://randomhouse.app.box.com/s/82l6yu2e95s3b6bj95hibw36abpdsruh
‘I Could Have Been an ISIS Bride:
https://www.thetimes.com/culture/books/article/nussaibah-younis-on-writing-comedy-about-extremism-i-was-nearly-radicalised-as-a-teenager-vnhk675xt
Women’s Prize: In conversation with Nussaibah Younis:
https://womensprize.com/in-conversation-with-nussaibah-younis/
ON BEING A FUNDY
Nussaibah Younis discusses political extremism and her novel Fundamentally: https://www.alumni.ox.ac.uk/article/on-being-a-fundy
Nussaibah Younis's Desert Island Books: https://theliteraryedit.substack.com/p/nussaibah-youniss-desert-island-books
‘ISIS AND PROPAGANDA: HOW ISIS EXPLOITS WOMEN’: https://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/sites/default/files/research/files/Isis%2520and%2520Propaganda-%2520How%2520Isis%2520Exploits%2520Women.pdf
