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 Simon Stephenson’s book Let Not the Waves of the Sea was in The Independent yesterday. Stephenson is a medical doctor who also writes – this moving book is about his beloved brother’s death in the Thai earthquake/tsunami of … Continue reading
Jennifer Egan and Karen Russell at Edinburgh Book Festival. Both Jennifer Egan and Karen Russell were longlisted for the 2011 Orange Prize for Fiction; Egan for A Visit From The Goon Squad, and Russell for Swamplandia! Egan’s novel also … Continue reading
Jill Dawson was acclaimed for her last book, The Great Lover, which was based on the life of Rupert Brooks though included fictional parts. She’s mingled fiction and fact before in several of her works. Her novel Watch me Disappear … Continue reading
Sebastian Barry, the Irish author, has been longlisted for this year’s Man Booker Prize with his latest novel, On Canaan’s Side. Barry’s The Secret Scripture won the Costa and James Tait Black Memorial Prize in 2008, and received much praise … Continue reading
Vintage books, an imprint of Random House Publishing, is celebrating its 21st birthday this summer. To celebrate, they are publishing 21 of their most critically acclaimed and best-loved books in ice-cream colours that are so delicious you don’t know whether … Continue reading
My review of Iain Sinclair’s Ghost Milk is in today’s Indie on Sunday: http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/ghost-milk-by-iain-sinclair-2314868.html
My review of Fabio Geda’s book in today’s Indy. Inspiring true story of little boy left, aged ten, to survive on own in strange country because Taliban had threatened to steal him from mother in Afghanistan, and she couldn’t escape … Continue reading
My Vendela Vida review started out at twice the length, so to me, the version I cropped it to sounds stilted and full of flaws. Must learn to be less verbose- I still scribble 15+ pages notes for every book … Continue reading
I’m a boring middle-aged person who rarely goes to gigs anymore, so when I put on the demo CD (burnt on a computer) by a trio of Stirlingshire 18-year olds – one of whom is still at school – I wasn’t expecting … Continue reading
Hood Rat by Gavin Knight Picador £12.99 Reviewed by Leyla Sanai Gangland violence has been a source of inspiration to many a writer but journalist Knight has eschewed fiction and concentrated on fact. Embedded for two years with police anti-gang … Continue reading
DJ Taylor’s Derby Day is an accomplished novel written in a gently ironic tone parodying the great novelists of the Victorian era, the time at which it’s set. My review of it is here: http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/derby-day-by-dj-taylor-2302761.html
Cynthia Ozick rewrites Henry James – my Foreign Bodies review in the Independent on Sunday: http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/foreign-bodies-by-cynthia-ozick-2293021.html
This is a book that could have been harrowing and depressing but is somehow uplifting despite the terrors of war. It’s about two young sisters who survived the siege of Sarajevo, one having escaped as a child on a … Continue reading
*Must* stop writing expansive 1400 word reviews, shearing them viciously down to 800, then being disappointed when they appear in print as they seem like thin versions of the original long version. My Sunday Indie review of St Aubyn’s new … Continue reading
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/annabel-by-kathleen-winter-2273982.html
King of the Badgers by Philip Hensher Reviewed by Leyla Sanai Philip Hensher is one of those assured novelists who can convincingly turn his hand to any number of topics. His debut novel, the historical and lyrical The Mulberry Empire, … Continue reading
Here’s a short review of Edward Docx’s new novel: http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/the-devils-garden-by-edward-docx-2265620.html
The Coincidence Engine by Sam Leith Bloomsbury £12.99 Reviewed by Leyla Sanai Arriving with preview praise from William Boyd and Michael Moorcock, Leith’s debut novel is an ingenious if highly wacky adventure crammed with laughs. And, perhaps incongruously, beneath … Continue reading
Here’s my Gail Jones Five Bells review from the Sunday Indie: http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/five-bells-by-gail-jones-2254064.html
A Visit From the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan Reviewed by Leyla Sanai If the title of Egan’s novel puts you in mind of Elvis Costello’s song from his third album, Armed Forces, your aim is true: Egan’s story deals … Continue reading
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/the-book-of-lies-by-mary-horlock-2242724.html
Here’s my Indie review of Stuart Evers’s debut short story collection, Ten Stories About Smoking. The review looked better at 850 words than it does at 400 but newspaper space – like the lung capacity of smokers (groan) – is … Continue reading
Born in Canada, Szalay’s previous two novels have received storms of acclaim and a clutch of prestigious literary prizes. This, his third novel, is very nearly brilliant. See link for review in The Independent on Sunday: http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/spring-by-david-szalay-2233421.html
Anyone looking for a hilarious and irreverent look at the world of celeb should pick up a copy of this debut novel. I know the words ‘hilarious’ and ‘irreverent’ are bandied around a lot, and q often leave me poker-faced … Continue reading
Palladio by Jonathan Dee Reviewed by Leyla Sanai NYT magazine writer Dee’s last novel published in the UK was Privileges, which won effusive praise from Jonathan Franzen, Richard Ford and Jay McInerney as well as newspapers on both sides of … Continue reading
