Zeitoun

Zeitoun
Author: Visit ‘s Dave Eggers Page ID: 1934781630

From The New Yorker

Through the story of one mans experience after Hurricane Katrina, Eggers draws an indelible picture of Bush-era crisis management. Abdulrahman Zeitoun, a successful Syrian-born painting contractor, decides to stay in New Orleans and protect his property while his family flees. After the levees break, he uses a small canoe to rescue people, before being arrested by an armed squad and swept powerlessly into a vortex of bureaucratic brutality. When a guard accuses him of being a member of Al Qaeda, he sees that race and culture may explain his predicament. Eggers, compiling his account from interviews, sensibly resists rhetorical grandstanding, letting injustices speak for themselves. His skill is most evident in how closely he involves the reader in Zeitouns thoughts. Thrown into one of a series of wire cages, Zeitoun speculates, with a contractors practicality, that construction of his prison must have begun within a day or so of the hurricane.

From Bookmarks Magazine

The New York Times Book Review called Zeitoun “the stuff of great narrative fiction,” and critics agreed that Eggers tells Zeitoun’s tragic story without the postmodern trickery and tirades he has exhibited in previous works. Instead, he allows the story to tell itself while imbuing Zeitoun’s tragedy with deep sympathy and emotion. Although Eggers didn’t witness Hurricane Katrina’s devastation firsthand, he captures the experience through Zeitoun’s eyes and approaches his subject very intimately. A few critics noted that while this perspective was convincing, it required “faith on the part of the reader that everything in the book happened as it appears here” (San Francisco Chronicle). But this was a minor complaint in an overall unforgettable story.

See all Editorial Reviews

Series: ZeitounHardcover: 342 pagesPublisher: McSweeney’s (July 15, 2009)Language: EnglishISBN-10: 1934781630ISBN-13: 978-1934781630 Product Dimensions: 1.2 x 6.5 x 9 inches Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds Best Sellers Rank: #93,133 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #31 in Books > Science & Math > Earth Sciences > Atmospheric Sciences #89 in Books > Science & Math > Earth Sciences > Natural Disasters #105 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Social Sciences > Disaster Relief

First off, Zeitoun painted my house about 8 years ago so maybe I’m a little bit biased. I also think Dave Eggers is a great writer (doubly biased, perhaps). This story needs to be told to a large audience and Mr. Eggers is just the person to tell it. Maybe we can knock Eggers for the simplistic style he chose to write this book. On the other hand, this story frankly didn’t need much artistic enhancement. It is shocking on its own accord and told in a very straightforward manner. Appropriate for the material, I believe.

Every American NEEDS to read this book. What we find in it is an America that lost its core. It is truly shocking that no matter how bad things were in New Orleans immediately following Katrina (most reporting was inaccurate and sensationalized), we are still Americans with common beliefs in our system of rights. That these rights were tossed out the window is appalling.

Mr. Zeitoun is a kind and gentle man. His signs are ubiquitous in New Orleans and he is a stranger to no one and well liked by all who have met him. That he could be mistreated is a crime and an outrage. That others were rounded up and treated even worse is one of the worst black eyes on our country. As I read this book I just kept saying out loud over and over again, "This cannot be America."

I had never read anything by Dave Eggers before, but his reputation set some pretty high expectations. I am a fan of narrative non-fiction and non-fiction, and enjoy books like "In Thin Air" or "The Colony." I picked up the book yesterday, and finished it this morning. It was spectacular.

The writing style is perfect. It is not over the top with descriptions, but still makes you feel as if you are there, canoeing along in the streets of New Orleans. The subject matter is interesting, not just in a "can’t stop watching this train wreck" sort of way, but because it ties together Hurricane Katrina and 9/11, two of the largest national events of the last decade. I never thought or knew about much beyond what I saw on TV regarding Katrina. This book thoroughly explores one story of one family, but manages tell it from a perspective that everyone can understand.

Much like the book Three Cups of Tea brought attention to the plight of women in Pakistan, I hope that Zeitoun will bring to light the problems and issues that still need attention in the US and in New Orleans.

Eggers took the main event, Katrina, and by telling the Zietouns’ story, made it of human scale.

I’m rambling–all I can say is, I think this book is worth a read for everyone. It isn’t preachy-it is interesting. I learned a lot about many different subjects. I hope it ends up on the best seller list and stays there for a long time. Unlike some books that end up on the best seller lists, this one really deserves to be there.

Zeitoun is a creampuff to read and then there is a huge lump in your stomach where the content boils. I finished it in a couple of days, finishing on a cross-country plane flight and got off in a furious mood that didn’t wear off until the end of a hot bath and a tall cold rum drink. Massive injustice has been done in New Orleans and this book follows it right down to the foundations. You won’t read another word about Katrina without finding your thoughts completely reoriented. Let’s hear it for the truth.

Zeitoun Dave Eggers 9780307387943 Amazon com Dave Eggers is the author of six previous books including Zeitoun a nonfiction account a Syrian American immigrant and his extraordinary experience during Celebrated Hero in Zeitoun Book Faces Murder Charges Aug 10 2012 Abdulrahman Zeitoun the subject of a best selling book was charged with plotting to have his wife her son and another man murdered Zeitoun by Dave Eggers Goodreads Aug 15 2009 Zeitoun has 51 628 ratings and 6 475 reviews Imogen said Will you remind me again why we all hate Dave Eggers so much I remember reading What Is

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