Books by Nussaibah Younis
“It’s the only book where I actually burst out laughing two or three times because it gets you. You’re in a deep and serious subject, but it’s able to deliver it in such an understandable, amusing, and readable way. As you say, it is a bit Bridget Jones, with a few storylines about relationships, romance, and love. It’s also about working in government agencies—the bureaucracy and some of the decisions that are made. But the main line that goes through it is about the vulnerability of the ISIS brides and how they potentially have been duped into being part of that world and how they’re now stuck in aid camps and have no route of repatriation in any way, shape, or form. That was enlightening to me.” Read more...
Interviews where books by Nussaibah Younis were recommended
The Best Adventure Novels: The 2025 Wilbur Smith Prize, recommended by Nathan Gray
Adventure means something different for everyone, says Nathan Gray, former fighter pilot and a judge for this year’s Wilbur Smith Prize for Adventure Writing. He talks us through the brilliant books that made the 2025 shortlist, and the journeys they took him on.
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1
What We Can Know: A Novel
by Ian McEwan -
2
We Do Not Part
by Han Kang, translated by e. yaewon and Paige Aniyah Morris -
3
Flashlight: A Novel
by Susan Choi -
4
The Life of Violet
by Virginia Woolf -
5
Dream Count
by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie -
6
Heart Lamp: Selected Stories
by Banu Mushtaq, translated by Deepa Bhasthi
New Literary Fiction
New Literary Fiction
Keep up to date with the best new releases in literary fiction here on Five Books. Our deputy editor, Cal Flyn, an award-winning author herself, writes seasonal round-ups of the best new novels from ‘literary’ writers: from buzzed-about debuts to critics’ darlings, new work from the globally recognised greats and beloved sleeper hits from writers’ writers. We love it all here at Five Books.
The Best Novels: The 2025 Women’s Prize for Fiction, recommended by Kit de Waal
The 2025 shortlist for the Women’s Prize for Fiction features a family saga about formerly rich Iranian refugees, a surprisingly funny tale of ISIS brides and a “weird” midlife crisis adventure in suburban California. We asked the bestselling novelist—chair of this year’s judging panel—to talk us through the six finalists.
