A difficult patient's notes on recovery

Kureishi's engrossing memoir of recovering from a devastating accident dovetails into a handbook of writing advice and more

- Somak Ghoshal

On 26 December 2022, Boxing Day, British-Asian writer Hanif Kureishi, who is now 69, had a devastating fall while holidaying in Rome with his partner, Isabella d'Amico. The accident left him severely paralysed, forcing him to move between hospitals, rehab centres and care homes in Italy and Britain for over a year, before he could return to his home in London.

Soon after his first hospitalisation, Kureishi began sending daily dispatches into the internet, chronicling his days from what the late Susan Sontag had called "the kingdom of the sick". Since he was unable to use his hands, Kureishi's words were typed up by his partner or one of his three sons, and eventually sent out as a popular newsletter from the blogging platform, Substack.

Kureishi's latest book, Shattered, draws heavily on those posts, adding and editing the content to create a narrative thread of sorts. The result is an eclectic memoir, richly punctuated with advice on writing and living, while affording an intimate glimpse into one of the sharpest literary minds of our time.

For those who have devotedly followed Kureishi's recovery online, the book doesn't come bearing surprises. Yet, it's really easy to get drawn into the conversational energy of his voice-whether he is bemoaning his sorry fate, unburdening his darkest thoughts, or making his trademark naughty observations, there is always a redeeming glint of that acerbic wit Kureishi is widely loved for.