A darkly funny, deeply human debut novel.
Reviewed by Ilaria Gianfranceschi
Fundamentally is the debut novel by globally recognised expert on contemporary Iraq, Nussaibah Younis. Impossible to ignore, this book has been the pick for numerous book clubs and has been shortlisted for many prizes – Women’s Prize for Fiction, just to name but one. From the very first pages, it’s clear why there’s so much buzz around this novel: this is a page-turner, impossible to put down.
The story follows Nadia, a young academic who accepts —with all the best intentions but also for all the wrong reasons— a UN job in Iraq, where she’s tasked with rehabilitating ISIS brides. Before being a brilliant academic tasked with a high-risk and high-importance programme at the UN, Nadia is a young woman trying to cope with the estrangement from her immigrant mother and a recent unexpected heartbreak. Her impressive credentials and good intentions do little to protect her from disillusionment — or from acting out of her own saviour complex.
Once in Iraq, she throws herself into her work, determined to succeed in the rehabilitation programme. At the camp, among the ISIS brides, she meets Sara — a young East Londoner whose story echoes her own in unsettling ways. The two bond over growing up in immigrant families and the alienation that can come with religious identity. Nadia becomes particularly affected when she learns Sara has been separated from her infant daughter. Their complicated friendship, and Nadia’s efforts to reunite Sara with her child, become the emotional centre of a novel that confronts not only the fraught and nuanced issue of ISIS brides, but refreshingly also the often-absurd bureaucratic machinery that powers institutions like the UN, brought to life through a cast of near-caricature figures Nadia meets along the way.
From its first pages, the novel delivers surprise after surprise. Despite the heavy subject matter, the expected solemnity is upended by Nadia’s sharp, hilarious narrative voice — a voice that feels utterly original. The tone of the narration is often abrasive and at times borders on offensive—but this is softened by the knowledge that Younis draws directly from her own experience, both within the UN and from her Iraqi heritage. The story feels honest and deeply human. While it takes the issues at its core seriously, Fundamentally also offers a vivid, sometimes absurd portrait of the world of international aid work. Through Nadia’s questionable decisions — which often land her in the most unlikely (and ridiculous) situations — the novel interrogates the ethics and motivations behind globally funded programmes and the people who run them.
Though the novel’s dark comedic tone may be divisive, it’s ultimately what sets Fundamentally apart. It makes the story accessible even to readers with little prior knowledge of the subject, while still confronting weighty and uncomfortable themes. Through flawed characters and occasionally absurd situations, the novel leaves the reader with a lasting impression: no matter how outsized the circumstances, the characters’ struggles—whether navigating complicated family dynamics or trying to make sense of an emotionally isolating, overly complex world—feel deeply relatable to anyone grappling with the challenges of adulthood.
This blend of sharp satire and emotional honesty is what makes the novel linger long after finishing it.
You can find Fundamentally by Nussaibah Younis in our collection at PR6125.O96 F86 2025
The Aga Khan Library offers an extensive collection of works of narrative — from fiction to biographical prose — available in both original language and translated editions.
