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The Day Nina Simone Stopped Singing

by Darina Al-Joundi
with Mohamed Kacimi. Feminist Pr, dist. by Consortium. 2011. c.144p. tr. from French by Marjolijn de Jager. ISBN 9781558616837. pap. $14.95. AUTOBIOG
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Actress, screenwriter, and filmmaker Al-Joundi has written a moving and poignant memoir of life before and during the Lebanese civil war (1975–90). The book opens with the funeral of Al-Joundi's father when the author, respecting her father's wishes, resists having the Koran read. Al-Joundi instead plays Nina Simone's "Save Me," a move that brings devastating consequences. Irreverent and fervently secular, Al-Joundi's father is a key figure in the author's life. During her upbringing, as she relates here, her father insisted that she strive for independence, resist gender norms and restrictions, and refuse to adhere to any religion. Al-Joundi describes coming of age in war-torn Beirut, a city saturated with violence, her adolescence replete with drugs, anonymous sex, and other transgressions. Al-Joundi's struggle against gender oppression and conflicts with her mother ultimately compelled her to leave Lebanon for France.
VERDICT Al-Joundi manages to infuse humor into a disturbing narrative of brutality, war, and violence. The unconventional wisdom and feminist-leaning views of her father make this brief narrative a compelling and entertaining read that will appeal to a broad adult audience and to readers interested in women's rights.
Reviewed by Karen Okamoto, John Jay Coll. of Criminal Justice Lib., New York , Apr 15, 2011
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