Description: This novel by one of Lebanon's best-known authors offers an intimate look at evolving attitudes toward virginity, premarital sex, and abortion in Lebanon as it draws a compelling portrait of a disintegrating marriage.
Brief description: Rashid al-Daif has written three volumes of poetry and more than a dozen novels, six of which have been translated into English and a number of other languages.
Review Quotes: "There is an old Arabic proverb about the difficulty of determining the course of one's life: "winds blow counter to what ships desire". It has often cropped up in Lebanese newspapers since the country's civil war ended in 1990, and a burgeoning literary movement has taken it to heart. Contemporary Lebanese fiction often features unreliable first-person narrators attempting to make sense of violence and instability while being buffeted by forces outside of their control. Rashid al-Daif's novels follow the same path. The title of his latest to appear in English, Who's Afraid of Meryl Streep? (literally, "Let Meryl Streep Do What She Likes") comes from Paula Haydar and Nadine Sinno, whose excellent translation captures al-Daif's predilection for references to popular culture."-- "Times Literary Supplement" (3/27/2015 12:00:00 AM)