Hanif Kureishi, the acclaimed novelist and screenwriter of films such as My Beautiful Laundrette and The Buddha of Suburbia, suffered life-changing injuries after collapsing on Boxing Day last year. He hit his head and was left paralyzed without the use of his arms and legs. Despite the tragedy, he used his experience of the accident to give inspiration to his readers. Through his brutally honest blog posts, he found solace in his relationship with his responsive readers.
Kureishi spoke openly about the profound impact that the incident had on his life in a recent interview with BBC Radio 4’s Today program. He recounted his immediate thoughts after the accident, noting that his first instinct was to think that he was going to die. He then thought that it would be ridiculous to die in such a stupid way. Kureishi added that he felt that he was not ready to die yet, as he had many things that he wanted to do.
Kureishi, who was staying with his partner Isabella in Rome at the time of the incident, was remarkably lucid in the moments after his accident. The 69-year-old author was lying in a pool of blood when he woke up. He said that he even considered FaceTiming his friends to say goodbye, but Isabella advised against it.
The sense of outrage at fate that Kureishi felt as a result of his accident is shared by many patients who were badly injured in sudden accidents. Kureishi noted that people fall out of bed or trip over rakes and break their necks. He said that these types of accidents are farcical, cruel, and meaningless.
Kureishi has undergone treatment in five different hospitals in Italy and the UK over the past year. Paralysis has changed his relationships and transformed him into a “reluctant dictator” to make demands since he cannot use his arms. Although Kureishi’s sense of humor and innocence have been lost, he is closer to reality and feels that talking with his readers of his blog gives him strength
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