A Smell of Burning

An enthralling and eclectic account.

Caroline Sanderson, Bookseller

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

[A] moving memoir.

Sarah Stacey, Daily Mail

[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] brilliant, tender book… An extraordinary work of love and art, which left me choked with tears.

Maggie Gee, Observer

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

A fascinating personal and historical account. *****

Helen Brown, Sunday Telegraph

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

An informative book that will hopefully encourage readers to show more empathy.

Natalie Bowen, Northern Echo

A readable and informative book that should help to lay to rest some of the many misconceptions about the condition.

Kate Whiting, Scotsman

A scholarly yet highly readable account of the history of – as well as current thinking on – epilepsy.

Tony Gould, Oldie

A brilliant evocation of a young man’s difficult relationship with a stigmatized disease.

Suzanne O'Sullivan, Lancet

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 flawless amalgam of personal memoir, mind science and medical history.

Ian Thomson, Spectator

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

Thanks to A Smell of Burning we are encouraged to put into question our own perceptions of what constitutes balance and harmony, in our brains, our minds, and the world around us.

Dr Maria Vaccarella, British Medical Journal

Fascinating, moving and deeply personal.

Bookseller

Written by a former medic whose younger brother was an epileptic, this is a superb personal and historical account of the effect the condition has on the lives of sufferers and those around them

Daily Telegraph

This is a sharply poignant and sad memoir. It’s also a brilliant historical and medical analysis.

William Leith, Evening Standard