Fatima Bhutto was born in Kabul, Afghanistan and grew up
between Syria and Pakistan. She is the author of five previous
books of fiction and nonfiction. Her debut novel, The Shadow of
the Crescent Moon, was long listed for the Bailey's Women's
Prize for Fiction and the memoir about her father's life and
assassination, Songs of Blood and Sword, was published to
acclaim. Her most recent book is The Runaways.
She graduated from Barnard with a degree in Middle Eastern
Languages and Cultures and has a masters in South Asian Government
and politics from SOAS. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram at
@fbhutto.
"As compassionate as it is trenchant, this rare fiction is an
illuminating guide through the great disorder of our times."
-Pankaj Mishra
"Fatima Bhutto vividly renders the seductions of Islamic
radicalization in such a way that we understand both its historical
specificity and its universal roots in idealism and desire, rage
and romance, youth and rebellion. Drawn from the headlines but
plunging much deeper, The Runaways is a novel for our
difficult times."
-Viet Thanh Nguyen
"An astute and searing take on anomie and radicalization."
-Kirkus Reviews
"Stunning ... Bhutto's descriptions trade between stark beauty and
restrained horrors, encompassing the damp of a rain-soaked slum,
the wonder of self-caging birds, and the pure brightness of
moonshine over the desert ... Her pages are brutal and surprising,
and their revelations stand to unmake and rebuild their
audiences."
-Michelle Anne Schingler, Foreword Reviews (Starred
Review)
"Dramatic ... With poetic writing, Bhutto slowly reveals the
characters' connections as well as some compelling twists, and
makes a convincing case that extremism, especially for young
people, is driven more by feelings of alienation than
religion."
-Kathy Sexton, Booklist
"Told in alternate chapters from the points of view of all three
protagonists, the book moves forward and backward, explaining their
motivations in spare, almost jaunty prose that elicits empathy for
the troubled teens and stands in stark contrast to the seriousness
of the plot. Bhutto's penetrating character study convinces all the
way to the inevitable bloody end. "
-Publishers Weekly
"The Runaways is an extraordinary novel by an author whose
attention to detail [and] exceptionally effective narrative
storytelling style has created the kind of book that will linger in
the mind and memory long after it has been finished."
-Midwest Book Review
"A meticulous psychological study of who turns to radicalism and
why ... A provocative investigation of courage, and how it can
foment either salvation or damnation."
-Anjali Enjeti, Minneapolis Star Tribune
"The Runaways, with its complex fusion of ideas-personal,
national, and transnational identity; the relationship between
fervor and self-destruction; and the nature of the matrix within
which we live-generates a complex fictional topography. The
sensibilities of the novel's protagonists suggest a new dynamic of
power relations in which politics and selfhood, empire and
psychology prove to be profoundly interrelated."
-Nyla Ali Khan, World Literature Today
"The Runaways, with its complex fusion of ideas-personal,
national, and transnational identity; the relationship between
fervor and self-destruction; and the nature of the matrix within
which we live-generates a complex fictional topography. The
sensibilities of the novel's protagonists suggest a new dynamic of
power relations in which politics and selfhood, empire and
psychology prove to be profoundly interrelated."
-Nyla Ali Khan, World Literature Today
"The Runaways is a finely wrought novel ... Both
thought-provoking and humane."
-Ron Jacobs, CounterPunch
"[The characters'] alternating voices give a kaleidoscopic feel to
the plot, and yield a panoramic look at the roots of
radicalism."
-Adeel Hassan, New York
Times
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