'I envy people who can walk': writer Kureishi mourns loss of movement through ballet

The Buddha of Suburbia author broke his neck three years ago. He tells Vanessa Thorpe why he used a filmed dance piece to document the devastating aftermath

- Vanessa Thorpe

When a sudden, terrible misfortune robs you of normal life, even of the ability to move, how do you face the future? For the British author Hanif Kureishi, who broke his neck in a fall three years ago, there is an unexpected new answer: dance.

Kureishi, 70, who wrote the award-winning novel The Buddha of Suburbia and the film My Beautiful Laundrette, has devised a filmed piece about the devastating aftermath of his accident for two leading ballet dancers, in collaboration with choreographer Kristin McNally. "I had no idea what to expect," he says, "so it's magical to see my work being interpreted by other artists and the use of movement, of course, but also music."

After falling inside his apartment while on holiday in Rome, Kureishi was discovered by his partner, Isabella d'Amico, who rushed him to hospital, where he stayed in constant care for more than a year. Initially unable to move his arms or legs, he was tetraplegic, despite limited sensation left in his body, and had to rely on others for every personal need.

Eventually, the writer began to chronicle events in a blog, with the help of family and visitors. This became the basis for his bestselling memoir, Shattered. With exercise and through the therapy of limited regular work, the writer has recently regained some strength in his limbs.