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A review by thebobsphere
The Day Nina Simone Stopped Singing by Mohamed Kacimi, Darina Al-Joundi
5.0
There is a fine line between tragedy and comedy and The Day Nina Simone Stopped Singing swerves between both realms. As the subtitle states the book is a monologue or a series of 10 monlogues to be more precise, where the author speaks about her father and his role in Beirut. In between each scene Nina Simone’s Sinnerman plays.
Each monologue focuses on a certain aspect on the author’s life. Her father’s background, the brutality of the civil war in Lebanon, the cruel tortures inflicted upon her father and how life was like during that period including boyfriends and family relationships. Given the backdrop of the play one can understand the significance of Sinnerman. In fact Darina Al Joundi talks about the importance of Nina Simone to her as well.
At times the narrative becomes so crazy that it is hard to believe that these are events which really happened. However there are humorous moments as well, mainly the descriptions of the author’s past lovers or the Bible study scene in the beginning. What comes out though is that The Day is not only a love letter to a missing parent but, and more importantly, also a statement about how women are treated in Lebanon: They cannot attend burials, one monologue is about rape, another is about marriage. As one can guess these sections also have a tragic aspect.
The Day Nina Simone Stopped Singing is barely 70 pages long but it is a powerful piece on war and feminism. It is eye opening and sure to leave an affect on the reader. The dark comic vibe, doesn’t alleviate matters but drives into the mind the sheer absurdity of war crossed with a fanatical notion of religion.
Each monologue focuses on a certain aspect on the author’s life. Her father’s background, the brutality of the civil war in Lebanon, the cruel tortures inflicted upon her father and how life was like during that period including boyfriends and family relationships. Given the backdrop of the play one can understand the significance of Sinnerman. In fact Darina Al Joundi talks about the importance of Nina Simone to her as well.
At times the narrative becomes so crazy that it is hard to believe that these are events which really happened. However there are humorous moments as well, mainly the descriptions of the author’s past lovers or the Bible study scene in the beginning. What comes out though is that The Day is not only a love letter to a missing parent but, and more importantly, also a statement about how women are treated in Lebanon: They cannot attend burials, one monologue is about rape, another is about marriage. As one can guess these sections also have a tragic aspect.
The Day Nina Simone Stopped Singing is barely 70 pages long but it is a powerful piece on war and feminism. It is eye opening and sure to leave an affect on the reader. The dark comic vibe, doesn’t alleviate matters but drives into the mind the sheer absurdity of war crossed with a fanatical notion of religion.