A Smell of Burning by Colin Grant

A Smell of Burning by Colin Grant

'[A] brilliant, tender book… An extraordinary work of love and art, which left me choked with tears.' Maggie Gee, Observer A Sunday Times Book of the Year One day Colin Grant’s teenage brother Christopher failed to emerge from the bathroom. His family broke down the door to find him unconscious on the floor. None of their lives were ever the same again. Christopher was diagnosed with epilepsy. A Smell of Burning tells the remarkable story of this strange and misunderstood disorder. How certain people, at a particular moment in their life, start to suffer seizures, often preceded by an aura, of which a smell of burning is one of the most common. For many years epilepsy was associated with mental illness or even possession by devils. People with epilepsy were forbidden to marry or have children. Many became victims of Nazi eugenics programmes. To this day many people with epilepsy – sixty million worldwide – still live in fear of exposure. Grant’s book traces the history of the condition and the pioneering doctors whose extraordinary breakthroughs finally helped gain an understanding of how the brain works. He tells the stories of famous people with epilepsy like Julius Caesar, Joan of Arc, Fyodor Dostoevsky and Vincent Van Gogh, and through the tragic tale of his brother, he considers the effect of epilepsy on his own life.

"[A] brilliant, tender book… An extraordinary work of love and art, which left me choked with tears" -- Maggie Gee * Observer *
"A moving memoir as well as a historical study of epilepsy… With verve and sensitivity, Grant tells the stories of individual sufferers." -- James McConnachie * Sunday Times, Book of the Year *
"Grant’s exploration of the literary, political, medical and scientific history of epilepsy is hugely compelling; his telling of the story of two brothers transcends the book’s twin genres and leaves us with a wry, gentle masterpiece." -- Seamus Sweeney * Times Literary Supplement *
"A fascinating personal and historical account. *****" -- Helen Brown * Sunday Telegraph *
"A flawless amalgam of personal memoir, mind science and medical history." -- Ian Thomson * Spectator *
"In writing A Smell of Burning… Grant may yet save more lives as a writer than he did as a doctor." -- Helen Brown * Daily Telegraph *
"As a memoir of Christopher’s trajectory of illness it is tenderly expressed, and the book is a poignant evocation of grief and regret." -- Gavin Francis * Guardian *
"He brings a core of expert knowledge and skill as a communicator to the story… [An] absorbing and sometimes horrifying tale." -- John Gribbon * Literary Review *
"At its best is like the works of other medics-turned-authors Atul Gawande and Henry Marsh." -- Tom Whipple * The Times *
"[Grant] helps us gain an eminently accessible insight into a world that…is still shrouded in mystery. It is a touching tale of brotherly love." -- Helen Davies * Sunday Times *
"[A] moving memoir." -- Sarah Stacey * Daily Mail *
"An enthralling and eclectic account." -- Caroline Sanderson * Bookseller *
"A readable and informative book that should help to lay to rest some of the many misconceptions about the condition." -- Kate Whiting * Scotsman *
"A brilliant evocation of a young man’s difficult relationship with a stigmatized disease." -- Suzanne O'Sullivan * Lancet *
"A scholarly yet highly readable account of the history of – as well as current thinking on – epilepsy." -- Tony Gould * Oldie *

Colin Grant is the author of three highly praised books: Negro with a Hat: The Rise and Fall of Marcus Garvey (2008), I and I: The Natural Mystics Marley, Tosh and Wailer (2011), Bageye at the Wheel (2012). He works as a radio producer for the BBC.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780224101820
ISBN 10	022410182X
Title	A Smell of Burning
Author	Colin Grant
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Hardback
Publisher	Vintage Publishing
Year published	2016-08-25
Number of pages	256
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.
Note	Unavailable