I really, REALLY loved it – the voice, the setting, the plot, all of it. It’s original, warm, funny and engaging. A breath of fresh air

Younis is a fantastic comic writer: caustic, pitiless, unafraid, with razor-sharp powers of observation. The book is laugh-out-loud funny, and many of the jokes, besides being hilarious, are jaw-dropping in their audacity… Fundamentally is certainly a wild ride, but besides being one of the most entertaining novels I’ve read in a long while, it will also leave you deeply moved and (incidentally) much better informed than you were before about one of the key political crises of our time. Essential reading.

Wise, chilling and hilarious, profound and preposterous. The best book I’ve read this year on the joy, delusions, missteps and precious idealism of our interventions

A new name to watch out for

The debut of the year

Trenchant, funny and fearless

Tart, tender, trenchant, and hilarious, Fundamentally is a brilliant novel about faith and friendship that refuses to be any one single thing — because it is EVERYTHING. Nussaibah Younis is a genius

Not only hysterically funny but trenchant and necessary. I loved it

An absolute riot of a novel. The humour is so sharp you could cut yourself and the action does not stop. Underneath all that though lies some serious topics, deftly handled, and boy, did I get some of my own thinking challenged. Loved it

I loved Fundamentally. I laughed all the way through . . . it’s brilliantly done. It’s impressive how the book combines elements of farce with such emotional depth and moral complexity. An incredibly accomplished debut.

I loved this. Laugh out loud funny, outrageous and thought provoking – a winning combination. The compassion at its heart is huge. Nussaibah’s experience shines through the page. Best use of fiction I know, to educate and encourage empathy while entertaining the reader so much they don’t realise. Highly recommend

Impossibly funny whilst darkly probing, Fundamentally is the whole package: a raunchy, irreverent, touching and daring debut with slicing commentary wrapped in bold, biting humour. It slyly and systematically rejects our swallowed concepts of heroes and who is correct, and posits instead the better question: what is right?

A white-hot critique of international aid, with side-splitting prose

Clever and thoughtful: passionate but clear-eyed, confronting but nuanced, enlightening and. . . very funny

Bold yet subtle, witty and constantly surprising: such an impressive debut

An utterly fascinating read. A brilliant book that compels you to turn the page, moves you emotionally, and makes you question everything you thought you knew. A must read. A deeply necessary book

Absolutely hilarious – a Muslim Fleabag

Overflowing with humour, humanity and compassion. This is such a timely novel that teaches us that there’s always more than meets the eye. The prose is stark and laugh out loud funny whilst stopping to pull at your heartstrings when you least expect. Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous

Fundamentally by Nussaibah Younis is one of the very best debut novels I’ve ever read. This is an author whose prose, humour and morality are wildly imaginative and brave in a way I feel both shaken and seen by. It’s a whole new kind of book and how often can you say that? It is a spectacular achievement – so funny, so imaginative.

A wickedly sharp and engrossing exploration of family, friendship and life’s messy ambiguities. Tender, funny and unexpected. I loved it

So incredibly funny that you only realise afterwards how much you’ve learned

Reading Fundamentally is like sitting through an action-packed blockbuster as the plot twists and turns . . . The novel is bitingly witty, and full of pungent jokes, but it also has a strong emotional pull

‘Densely researched while compulsively readable, funny while packed with emotional heft, able to acknowledge moral ambiguity while avoiding easy relativism. This smart, punchy book is destined to spark conversation. It deserves to be a massive hit.’

‘Extremely fascinating, extremely jaw-dropping – and extremely funny’

‘One of the buzziest debuts of the year . . . an entertaining and funny novel about a serious subject’

Funny, gripping and compassionate; Fundamentally is a truly original novel that you won’t be able to put down