Fatima Bhutto's novel The Runaways will release in October
Fatima Bhutto is back with a new work of fiction: The Runaways.
Being published by Penguin Random House India, Fatima's latest work is about "modern Muslim identity." The author broke the news to fans on Twitter.
"Penguin India has been my home for the past 10 years and I am thrilled that my new novel—a book very close to my heart — will be published by them this October," she said in a statement.
From the slums of Karachi to the nightlife of London, from the dockyards of Portsmouth to the deserts of Mosul, this sweeping novel delves into burning questions about modern Muslim identity in a world aflame with violence.
Anita Rose lives in a concrete block in one of Karachi’s biggest slums, languishing in poverty with her mother and older brother. Determined to escape her stifling circumstances, she struggles to educate herself, scribbling down English words—gleaned from watching TV or taught by her elderly neighbour—in her most prized possession: a glossy red notebook. All the while she is aware that a larger destiny awaits her.
On the other side of Karachi lives Monty, whose father owns half the city. But Monty wants more than fast cars and easy girls. When the rebellious Layla joins his school, he knows his life will never be the same again.
And far away in Portsmouth, Sunny fits in nowhere. It is only when he meets his charismatic, suntanned cousin Oz—whose smile makes Sunny feel found—that that he realizes his true purpose.
These three disparate lives will cross paths in the middle of a desert, a place where life and death walk hand-in-hand, and where their closely guarded secrets will force them to make a terrible choice.
Fatima's other works include her bestselling memoir Songs of Blood and Sword and her highly acclaimed debut novel The Shadow of the Crescent Moon, which was longlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction.
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