Freelanced for NME in London, mainly from '81 - '83, with sporadic pieces after that for a few years while studying medicine in Edinburgh. After graduation from Edinburgh Medical School, did JHO year then worked as a physician for a couple of years in Edinburgh, doing MRCP exams, then as an anaesthetist in Glasgow, doing FRCA and becoming a consultant anaesthetist in Glasgow's Western Infirmary/Gartnavel General Hospital. Freelanced for various publications over the years eg Times, Sunday Times, Herald (column for few years in Sat mag), Scotland on Sunday, Scotsman, Guardian, Sunday Herald, Observer. News Ed of British Journal of Intensive Care and International Journal Intensive Care for few years. Two columns in BMA News Review for a few years, and book reviews in BMJ and Lancet, plus articles in Careers BMJ and Student BMJ, Discover and other publications. Now have more time on hands as had to give up work as anaesthetist because of rheumatological illness (scleroderma) and write book reviews on freelance basis for The Independent on Sunday and The Independent and a column for the Scottish Medical Journal.
My review of the French writer Agnes Desarthe’s The Foundling is in the Independent on Sunday today. The story is intriguing, the characters plausible and the novel sprinkled with light sorts of insights – not the deep, wise ones that … Continue reading
Pop Art – gaudy gimmickry or innovative genius? Where do you stand? And how far does the label go? Most people will be familiar with Warhol’s screenprints of Marilyn Monroe, and his Campbell’s and Heinz soup tins, but do they constitute … Continue reading
We The Animals by Justin Torres Granta £12.99 Reviewed by Leyla Sanai Justin Torres’s autobiographical debut consists of a series of scenes from his childhood. Growing up the youngest of three wild brothers,Torres was aware that his family was different … Continue reading
This Isn’t The Sort Of ThingThat Happens To Someone Like You by Jon McGregor Bloomsbury £14.99 Reviewed by Leyla Sanai Jon McGregor’s writing combines dreamy, ethereal poetry with a northern sensibility that isn’t afraid to confront devastating truths. His magical … Continue reading
Here’s my review in the Sunday Indy of Peter Hobbs’s new book: http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/in-the-orchard-the-swalows-by-peter-hobbs-6289662.html
I’ll post a long review of this wonderful memoir after the shorter version has been published. Here’s a link to my short review of this book: http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-e…ly-6290953.html And here’s a longer review: Under A Cruel Star: A Life in … Continue reading
All Is Song by Samantha Harvey Jonathan Cape £16.99 Reviewed by Leyla Sanai Samantha Harvey’s debut, The Wilderness, was a stunning exploration of dementia, and scooped the Betty Trask Prize as well as being shortlisted for The Orange and … Continue reading
Out Of It by Selma Dabbagh Bloomsbury £12.99 Reviewed by Leyla Sanai The British Palestinian writer Selma Dabbagh has won plaudits and prize nominations for her short stories, which explore the political situation in Palestine. Her debut novel concentrates on … Continue reading
The Household Tips of the Great Writers by Mark Crick Granta £12.99 Reviewed by Leyla Sanai Literary parody is an art which requires the finest tuning. If it’s too obvious it can seem clichéd and lazy; too subtle and … Continue reading
My review of H.M Naqvi’s Homeboy is in The Independent today. It explores what it was like to be a westernised Pakistani living in NYC at the time of 9/11: http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/home-boy-by-hm-naqvi-6265197.html
My short review of Joan Didion’s Blue Nights is in the Indy on Sunday today. This is a book she wrote after the death of her daughter Quintana. Only a couple of years previously, Didion published an autobiography about the … Continue reading
Here’s a link to the v short version of my review in The Indy: http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-en…l-6256350.html Can post longer version of review if anyone interested.
My review of Sarah Hall’s collection of short stories is in The Sindy today. Being limited to 400 words, there wasn’t space to talk about how much I loved her last novel, the Man Booker listed How to Paint a … Continue reading
Homeboy – H.M. Naqvi Penguin £8.99 A different version of this review has been accepted for publication, so will post link up after it’s published.
Rossetti: Painter and Poet by J.B. Bullen Frances Lincoln £35.00 The symbolist, romantic paintings of the Pre- Raphaelites have intrigued art lovers for decades, with the recent BBC drama reigniting interest. Of all the names associated with this movement, it … Continue reading
A Sky Full of Kindness – by Rob Ryan Sceptre £16.99 Reviewed by Leyla Sanai It’s a long time since a picture book made me weep – I’m thinking when Babar’s mummy was shot in the jungle when I was … Continue reading
The Barbarian Nurseries by Hector Tobar Sceptre £16.99 Reviewed by Leyla Sanai Pulitzer-winning journalist and LA Times columnist Hector Tobar is the son of Guatemalan immigrants to the US, which may partially explain how he has such insights into the … Continue reading
The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides 4th Estate £20.00 Reviewed by Leyla Sanai Jeffrey Eugenides is often considered a controversial writer because of the themes of his previous novels. His debut, The Virgin Suicides, related the story of five mysterious … Continue reading
This is one of those books that took me completely by surprise. The premise of Dublin author Dwyer Hickey’s new book – an elderly Dublin man looking back over his life as he lies on his bathroom floor, overcome by … Continue reading
Here’s a link to my review of Charles Frazier’s new novel in today’s Independent. Frazier is the author of Cold Mountain. http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-en…r-2355273.html
The Sense of an Ending – Julian Barnes Jonathan Cape £12.99 Reviewed by Leyla Sanai Julian Barnes is a master of compelling, lucid prose, and his range is far-reaching. From meditations on the French writer Flaubert to personal and … Continue reading
All That I Am – Anna Funder Viking £18.99 Reviewed by Leyla Sanai History is often best told not by lists of battle dates but by the people in the shadows; those whose lives were blighted by the dictators. Anna … Continue reading
Here’s my review of Belinda McKeon’s debut novel from today’ Indy. It’s been cut, so I’ll post original verion of review below the link: http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/solace-by-belinda-mckeon-2350174.html Here’s a longer version of the review: Solace by Belinda McKeon Picador £12.99 … Continue reading
Burning Bright by Ron Rash Canongate £14.99 Reviewed by Leyla Sanai Poet, novelist and short story writer Ron Rash has been compared to William Faulkner because of the timbre and themes of his work, which is usually set in … Continue reading
My review of Sonia Faleiro’s shocking investigation into the sex trade in Mumbai (Bombay) is in today’s Independent on Sunday. Amazingly, as well as being harrowing, it manages to be amusing in parts, because of the irreverent, sharp wit of those stuck … Continue reading
