Writer Hanif Kureishi fears he won’t be able to walk and write after his fall

The 68-year-old Anglo-Pakistani writer Hanif Kureishi, author of “The Buddha of the suburbs” and “My Beautiful Laundrette” admitted to the Gemelli hospital in Rome after a bad fall during a walk, fears he can no longer walk or write. The Oscar-winning candidate fell during a walk between Piazza del Popolo and Villa Borghese in Rome last December 26, and was hospitalized in serious condition at the Gemelli hospital, where doctors operated on his spine.

“At the moment it is not clear if I will ever be able to walk again, or if I will ever be able to hold a pen,” Kureishi dictated to his son on Twitter, hoping for the help of speech software that could allow him to “write, start working again and continue a sort of halved life”.

“For a few days I was deeply traumatized, altered and unrecognizable to myself. I’m in the hospital. I can’t move my arms and legs», added the writer, explaining that he is not able to «scratch my nose, make a phone call or feed myself. As you can imagine, this is humiliating, degrading and a burden to others.” And he concluded: «I have sensitivity and some ability to move in all my limbs and as soon as possible I will start physiotherapy and rehabilitation. I want to thank the doctors and nurses of the Gemelli Polyclinic in Rome for all their extraordinary kindness, competence and care”.

Born in Bromley, a city south of London, in 1954 to a Pakistani father and a British mother, his multi-ethnic origin is the common thread of his literary works. In fact, in his novels he deals with the marginalization of minorities. Lucid analysis but filtered by a light and ironic gaze. As in his best-known title, “The Buddha of the suburbs”, published in Italy by Bompiani, in which the young Karim, of Anglo-Indian origins, feels totally English despite the vision of others.

Kureishi wrote the screenplays for Stephen Frears’ films “My Beautiful Laundrette” – for which he received an Oscar nomination – and “Sammy and Rosie Go to Bed” and for “The Mother”, “Venus” and “Le week- end» by Roger Michell; from the novel «In intimacy» Patrice Chéreau adapted the winning film at the Berlin Film Festival 2001, «Intimacy».

In Italian, the Bompiani publishing house has published, among others, the novels “The gift of Gabriel”, “Eight arms to embrace you”, “The body”, “My ear on his heart”, “The word and the bomb” , «I have something to tell you», «The last word», «Le weekend», «One zero» and «Love+Hate». His latest book is the collection of short stories and essays “What happened?”.