RaveThe Financial Times (UK)With a title like Guest House for Young Widows: Among the Women of Isis, readers might expect another chronicle of the horrifying, titillating tales that have become such well-trodden ground in portrayals of the jihadi group. Fortunately, Azadeh Moaveni has written nothing of the kind ... a fascinating dive into the lives of women who aided or flocked to Isis ... Following 13 women and a wide cast of supporting characters, Moaveni portrays her subjects with nuance, and even a dose of compassion — an approach that yields a far better understanding of Isis than more sensationalist accounts ... Moaveni’s focus on women becomes a useful frame for explaining, in a broader way, the global appeal of violent jihadism ... Moaveni provides fascinating details of life in the would-be caliphate ... The proliferation of characters can be confusing, and the book’s structure forces readers to jump around in time. Still, its strength lies in how these stories build into Moaveni’s argument. A devastating reckoning with the post-9/11 world order ... account of the three girls from east London who ran away to join Isis is one of the most incisive I have read: an indictment of UK intelligence and counter-terrorism...
