The Runaways

Reviews

A timely read that does a brilliant job of depicting the human cost when violence shifts from abstraction to reality Provocative and resolutely compassionate

A tender, powerful and richly embroidered novel from a courageous storyteller.
From Karachi's slums to England's promises, (through connected cities and intersecting destinies), Bhutto's new novel will move you with its profound wisdom and sharp grasp of our turbulent times. Behind The Runaways, there is clearly a brilliant mind and a generous heart at work.

This is a bold and probing novel, from a writer strikingly alert to something small and true Every page of this is priceless. I can't think of a better guide through the world we live in. I've never used the word "transformative" before, but I just did now. A powerful and moving book. It is a book that anyone rushing to condemn young people for being radicalised should read. As compassionate as it is trenchant, this rare fiction is an illuminating guide through the great disorder of our times. Dazzling . . . a novel that holds up to scrutiny a world of claustrophobic war zones, virulent social media and cities collapsing upon themselves, and then sets it down again, transformed by the grace of storytelling Bhutto's heady narrative flits through time and space with a sense of urgency, tracing three disparate young lives, each drawn into the realms of radicalisation, amid the dust of the Iraqi desert The themes of radicalism (of all sorts) is a thread that runs through the lives of the characters representing the complexity of ideology and the perpetual human search for meaning. Eloquent and erudite...a treat to read The Runaways is a book we should all read for it holds up a clear mirror to the way societies in many parts of the world are shaping, moulding, distorting and deforming the young. It is a book we all need. A big-hearted, beautiful novel. I read it with awe. Fatima Bhutto has an unflinching eye and a unique voice. A shocking, moving and deeply compassionate novel Highly topical . . . The Runaways offers an unflinching look at the key subjects of our time and the riveting story of three memorable characters An incisive and empathetic study of adolescent alienation and the social conditions that drive radicalisation An unflinching look at generational ambition and betrayal Expand reviews