The Runaways

“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