The Runaways

Admittedly, the lofty comparisons to an already divisive 'American Dirt' made me reluctant to approach 'The Runaways' with anything other than caution. When a novelist seeks to take on big world political issues from the relative safety of their elevated social position, one can't help but be sceptical. I'm happy to admit that I was wrong. This book is well worth the effort.
Centred around the lives of three teenagers with different upbringings, 'The Runaways' delves into the possibility of happenstance in a world which has increasingly become inescapably interconnected. Anita, who has grown up in a poor household in Karachi is offered an escape into a life which she hopes will bring her excitement and prosperity. Monty is at the other end of Karachi's social scale, and seeks an escape from his sheltered life. Whilst Sunny is seduced from his life of relative comfort in England by a manipulative older cousin. The result is the crossing of three disparate paths at a Jihadi training camp in Mosul.

There is a phrase in the blurb of this book that asks "how far would you run to escape your life?" and in reading this book and getting a front row seat in Anita, Sunny and Monty's lives you cannot help but grasp at the effort of trying to make sense of everything. At some point, I could relate to all of them in the search for meaning in what they do, and in learning that meaning is not fixed and it changes as we embrace different opportunities.
Thanks Netgalley for the eARC.

I received a free copy of The Runaways from Netgalley (my first Netgalley book! Yay!) in return for an honest review.

Fatima Bhutto is no stranger to political killing. As a member of the famous Bhutto clan, she's seen several high profile family members killed by their political opponents. For that reason, I felt it a little odd that she's chosen to focus 'The Runaways' not on political killing but on religious conflict. Her book follows a small group of young people from Pakistan and the UK into the Iraqi desert in search of Jihad. I don't recall if it's ever mentioned that the group they go to is Islamic State, or if it's one of many spin-offs or similar groups, but the theme is clear.

We have Sunny who, whether he acknowledges it himself, or not, is a classic BBCD - British-Born Confused Desi. He lives in Portsmouth, not a classic location for the Asian diaspora, and not a particularly inspiring place to grow up. He's battling his sexuality and his feelings for his older cousin, Oz, who inspires him to go out to the Middle East and 'be a man'. In stark contrast, we have Monty, cossetted son of one of Karachi's richest men, and desperately (and pitifully) in love with a girl called Layla who may well not be quite what she seems. Then there's Anita Rose, a Christian Pakistani girl whose brother will stop at nothing to build his business empire. By a series of somewhat unlikely coincidences, the two men find themselves together, undertaking a trek through the Iraqi desert for a terrorist group.

The first half of the book is stronger than the second. Once everybody got to Iraq, I felt things lost direction a bit. I've read a LOT of books about Islamic State and Syria and the experience of the two men seemed a bit lame at times. Why would the group have sent two young greenhorns into the desert for no apparently important purpose to walk through the desert? Why would Sonny have spent so much time on his mobile phone whilst they travelled? And why did Monty just not get the hint from Layla?

The biggest confusion for me was around Anita Rose. I can't say too much without giving away the twist (that you'll probably have spotted pretty early in the book) but her motivations made no sense to me at all. Why would what happens to her in Dubai, cause her to change her direction so abruptly? I could have understood her hating the perpetrators and pulling off a 'get thee to a monastery' stunt, but what happened made no sense to me. Please feel free to message me if you think I missed something. I also didn't feel too clear about the influence of her elderly communist neighbour.

The ending, when we've eventually dragged ourselves through the desert to get there, is rather abrupt and asks more questions than it answers.

Stylistically, I liked the book a lot but I found the plot rather weak. I didn't have a problem with the Urdu terms, but I could have done without whole sentences in Arabic. I would still want to read Fatima Bhutto again and have dusted off my copy of her autobiography about the deaths in her family and look forward to reading that.

Links - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40545831-the-runaways
Also on Amazon but not yet published at the time of posting this.

This is a really compelling and easy read. The twist really got me and I couldn't stop reading from that point. It touches upon some really heavy and prescient themes around extremism and the subjugation of women, in a approachable way. You get to delve into the mind of the oppressor which offered a really unique perspective on one of the most troubling crises of a generation.

The Runaways brings to light an issue which, in today's world, is hidden in plain sight - radicalism. The story is a difficult one to read in terms of it's topic, of how it's characters are fighting an inner battle to get validation, a yearning to be noticed and remembered by the others around them and the world at large.

Part philosophical, part realistic this is a story which will make you ask a lot of questions and introspect about life.

This has been out a while and has lots of helpful reviews. So I'll just say it's not for everyone. The author is no doubt talented, but the writing style will probably limit the book's audience. You'll probably love it or dislike it.

I really appreciate the review copy!!

This poignant and powerful novel explores how three young Muslims, one girl and two young men are seduced by radical Islamism . The two boys, one wealthy Pakistani boy with nothing to wish for but also no purpose or aim for his life, one Pakistani who lives in England and does not feel at home there and a girl who is intelligent and eager to learn but is trapped in her surrounding. All three are looking for a way to belong, to find themselves in a more authentic way and this is exploited in various ways to entice them to come together in the new Islamic State near Mosul. I found the way how these people are enticed to find their salvation in extreme Islam very well described. Also the author is delving into the various feeling of alienation very well. Interestingly , the girl who wants to escape instrumentalisation by men is also used by the jihadist.
Definitely a good read which leaves you thinking.

"This was the sacrifice. This was the hardship. Not leaving a place that meant nothing, but forgoing something you wanted, something you might have loved, for a higher purpose, to fight for a beautiful cause."

"The Runaways" by Fatima Bhutto is a harrowing and brutal tale of three characters who rise against the odds to fight for their freedom, no matter the cost. Bhutto provides a deeper insight into what it means to escape one life for another and what drives people to make dangerous and life-threatening decisions. This story is an important one that is relevant to issues occurring in the present time and allows for a more open-minded approach as to why people fight for radical ideas labeled as extreme and violent.

The story follows three characters (Anita Rose, Monty, and Sunny) who come from various social, political, and economic backgrounds. Anita Rose and Monty both live in Karachi, Pakistan. Anita Rose lives in the slums with her mother and brother while Monty lives with his family as the son of a successful businessman. Sunny lives in Portsmouth, England where he feels caught between his father's desire for him to be wealthy and successful and his cousin's Oz's passion for Islamic radicalization.

Part of what makes this story tough to read is the lead up to the main action, in which the readers become closely acquainted with Bhutto's stunning portrayal of three characters who, despite their backgrounds, each share similar feelings of isolation and oppression which lead them to find means of escape. For all three, this comes in the form of rejecting their current situation: their families, the place they live, and their identities. With new names, the three find themselves in a foreign place, each fighting for their own ideas of freedom.

"The Runaways" is a novel to look forward to. Bhutto's stunning display of life in different parts of the world was beautifully captured in the rich details of description, along with a refreshing insight into the diversity of life from the main character's eyes in modern times. Bhutto's novel is a recommended read, one I believe will leave readers with a lot to think about when the story is over.

I'm not sure how I feel about this book? It was really interesting to read and kept me super engaged, even though the subject was really dark and the characters ranged from infuriating empathetic and bleak.

The Runaways follows the perspectives of three different young people (two from Karachi, and one from London who's father immigrated from Pakistan) as they become involved in religious extremism and radicalised. I really loved how detailed the first two thirds of the book were, we really got a sense of each character, and why and how they began to believe and act in certain ways. Although towards the end of the novel, some of that fell away and I am still confused how one of the perspectives in particular ended up where they did. However, I loved how the book ended. You sort of know where it's going the whole time, but Bhutto really kept you guessing and engaged and I read it so fast.

The things I didn't like about the book, I know were intended to be there for reasons that were developed and explained but still some of the tropes used rubbed me the wrong way. This is a really dark story, so I think discomfort at certain points is intended. I wasn't supposed to like what I didn't like, but I'll put some content warnings indented below anyhow.

Another thing which is totally not the books fault but me is - a pet peeve of mine in books is using brand names. I dunno why it bugs me so much and it's nothing the book or author has done from it's just me, but it irks me. I know it isn't, but it feels like product placement when you're like watching a TV show - such an insignificant thing to be annoyed by but I am hahaha.
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Content warnings for: detailed sexual assault, implied animal cruelty, the self hating gay trope, detailed murder.

Although I sometimes had difficulty following this book it is an interesting insight into how a young man in the Middle East can be drawn to terrorist groups. The characters are well developed.

I had some trouble with this book at first. It seemed not to completely connect in some places, and the speaker would change on the same page without delineation which made me have to reread sections to make sure I had the right storyline. And some links seemed odd but overall I did enjoy the book. There were a couple of sentences, in light of current events, stuck out to me. “They has been discussing a black writer. The only way to look at powerful societies was through the people they excluded...”

And “It doesn’t matter what you call yourself, it matters how you resist, how bravely you are willing to stand against an onslaught, how faithfully you hold on to the truth...”

Deals with many of the same themes as Kamila Shamsie's Home Fire-- Islamic radicalization, immigration from Pakistan to Britain, socioeconomic inequality-- which I enjoyed much more. Some beautiful moments of prose, but characterization was thin and plotting was weak.

Thank you to Netgalley, Verso and Fatima Bhutto for this advanced reader's copy in return for my honest review. This was a tough book to read but one that asks many important questions that I play on my mind for a long time to come.

Thank you to Verso Books and NetGalley for the Advanced Reader's Copy!

Available Aug 18 2020

Unsettling and fast paced, Fatima Bhutto's The Runaways attempts to peel back the layers on modern day Karachi. When Anita accidentally runs into Monty at her new, private school in Karachi she can hardly predict the changes that are about to come her way. Addressing everything from the vacuity of modern, upper class living to the personal conflict homosexuality in Islam to a young girl's yearning for freedom, Bhutto's novel feels like it pulls the reader in many directions at once. It's often muddy grounds both philosophically and ideologically, and gets even more confusing when the characters start to adopt secondary names. The final scene is chilling and tense and I wish more of that dramatic writing was carried throughout the rest of the book.