Knife on Skin at 7:30 (Paperback)

~ Farhan Ansari (Author)
Key Phrases: tummy wall, entire abdominal cavity, food pipe, Catherine Aylward, Royal College of Surgeons, Beaumont Hospital (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

One of the most original travel journals ever written: part travelogue, part fantasy-fiction ghost story, Knife on Skin at 7:30 shares the escapades of a globetrotting surgeon as he makes his way through the theatres of Europe, Middle East, Asia, and Australia. Intelligent and pithy, this unique novel is comprised of short vignettes that convey snippet memories of the author's studies, travels, and adventures with a strange ghost. With miles of anecdotes that blend success with failure and triumphs with disappointments, this book exemplifies the truly charmed life of a man who skips from trial to tribulation and seeks to see the world in all of its glory.

About the Author

Born in Karachi, Farhan Ansari was educated at Army Medical School in Pakistan and later specialized in general surgery at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland where he received his fellowship. He has practiced medicine in the Europe, Middle East, Australia and Singapore where he was awarded a fellowship in pediatric surgery. Currently he and his wife and their two sons live in Saudi Arabia where he is a consultant pediatric surgeon. This is his first book. Abeera Atique is an artist of international acclaim. Her creative brilliance is evident in the illustrations of this book and several others. www.abeeraatique.com

Product Details

• Paperback: 360 pages
• Publisher: BookSurge Publishing (February 4, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 141967594X
• ISBN-13: 978-1419675942
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,765,142 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ansari's Debut Makes The Cut, May 3, 2008

By	Anthony Lund "Author of A Christmas Carol Retold" (Durham, Co Durham United Kingdom) - See all my reviews

"Knife On Skin At 7:30" is a book that comes as something of a curiosity and an oddity. It is a memoir and a work of fiction. A biography and a medical journal. A supernatural drama and a detailed travelogue.

Written in a first person narrative, Ansari opens with a short note explaining bits and pieces behind his story and providing information that would otherwise be lost on the reader. The book reads like a combination of three different books, eclectically and cleverly weaved together to create a uniquely engaging read. Whether it is detailing precise and urgent medical procedures, envisioning "Alice", the 300 year old ghost who plays an important part in the book, or describing a number of locations that would put a James Bond movie to shame, Ansari's style of writing easily draws the reader into his world and pulls them along for the ride.

Taking his story, and his career, from the opening journey to Ireland, across to the exotic locations of Dubai, Singapore and Sydney, to the interweaved tale of ghostly Alice Aylward, the spirit Ansari meets frequently and even embarks on a time travelling adventure for in order to do her a favour, the pace continues at a leisurely but never mundane level and flows effortlessly from each multi-sectioned chapter to the next. Reading the book, there is always a sense that Ansari is talking directly to you. You can almost hear the words being spoken in your head rather than being read which makes this book so much different from many others.

One minor gripe is that there are some peculiar formatting choices throughout the book, where certain words or lines are separated from surrounding paragraphs. As I said, a very minor note.

Accompanied by charming pencil sketches depicting operation rooms, outdoor scenes and private moments, Knife on Skin at 7:30 offers much to it's readers and on completing the book I felt I had not only read a good story but received something of an education in places, the medical profession and the nature of people.

For anyone who enjoys either ghost stories, medical dramas or fictionally factual and engrossing memoirs, Knife on Skin at 7:30 is an entertaining and involving read that will hold your attention from the first page to the closing line.
Reviewer: Anthony Lund, Allbooks Reviews.

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Read...A, August 28, 2008

By	Steven W. Johnson "Vargie Johnson" - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Knife On Skin At 7:30
By Farhan Ansari

To pick this book off the shelf and read its back cover description, it's described as... part travel log, part fantasy-fiction ghost story, and of a surgeon who globe trots his way around the world performing his skill--this write-up intrigued me. However, before I delved into it, a little light went on in my critic-brain that said "autobiography?" Wrapped up in all this fantasy-fiction genre is the life of this author. I was right.

Farhan Ansari is a newcomer to writing. I'm glad of this, because when I read a book like this--essentially a coming-of-age story-- the professional writer in me tends to be a little more critical and I analyze content more than I do on other books that I read.

Not that it really matters. Many of the best books I have read and critiqued have been of this nature, where many of the genres have been intermingled. My problem lies with the mixing of autobiography and fantasy together--as a professional writer, I personally feel that the two should not mix. However, having said that, Farhan Ansari has carried this off extremely well--and by his own account, this is the most directly autobiographical and it certainly is the most intimate I have read for a while.

Kife On Skin At 7:30 is a "page-turner". Not in the sense that the book keeps you on the edge of you seat because of suspense, but in a way that you become involved in the life of this surgeon. Experiencing his high's and low's of his life and of his profession and the eagerness of wanting to know what's going to happen to him next. Farhan Ansari's writing style is fluent as he transports you from one part of the world to the next--if not from one genre to another. A great read.

Vargie Johnson
Author of Historical Fiction
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