Zeitoun

Dave Eggers

Jun 2010 · Sold by Vintage

About this ebook

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • From the bestselling author of The Circle • The true story of one family, caught between America’s two biggest policy disasters: the war on terror and the response to Hurricane Katrina. 

"Eggers’ tone is pitch-perfect—suspense blended with just enough information to stoke reader outrage and what is likely to be a typical response: How could this happen in America? ... It’s the stuff of great narrative nonfiction.” —The New York Times Book Review

Abdulrahman and Kathy Zeitoun run a house-painting business in New Orleans. In August of 2005, as Hurricane Katrina approaches, Kathy evacuates with their four young children, leaving Zeitoun to watch over the business. In the days following the storm he travels the city by canoe, feeding abandoned animals and helping elderly neighbors. Then, on September 6th, police officers armed with M-16s arrest Zeitoun in his home. Told with eloquence and compassion, Zeitoun is a riveting account of one family’s unthinkable struggle with forces beyond wind and water.

Ratings and reviews

When I first heard of the book called Zeitoun, and looked it up, I thought it was a story about one man's survival during the tragedy of Hurricane Katrina. It takes place largely in New Orleans, during 2005, when Hurricane Katrina slammed the south. However, this book is so much more than a story of survival. It is a story of stamina, tolerance, injustice and stupidity. Sometimes I wondered what was Abdulrahmen thinking and sometimes I wondered, is this the United States of America we are talking about or some kind of a Twilight Zone of horror? Zeitoun is from Syria, but is a naturalized citizen of the US. He loves America and is a fairly devout Muslim. Kathy, his wife, 14 years his junior, is a converted Muslim, originally a Christian. They are living the American dream and loving it. They both work hard and have provided a great life for themselves and their children. Then Katrina struck. Kathy takes the children to safety and Zeitoun stays back to watch over their properties and his business. Both of them realized that the Dome was not a really viable choice for evacuation as in the past it was not able to provide for all the needs of the people housed there and this could be a far worse event. One has to wonder what the powers that be were thinking, when they failed to call for a mandatory evacuation until the last moment. At first, all goes well, regardless of the mishandling of the disaster. Zeitoun even rescues families that never left and feeds some of the abandoned dogs which people had to leave behind. Because there are jittery hands, on the triggers of guns at Homeland Security and FEMA, a travesty of justice occurs. The story the book relates is of Zeitoun's nightmare existence over a very short period of time, not at the hands of the hurricane, but at the hands of the representatives of FEMA, the National Guard, Homeland Security and disinterested people, in and out of the government, who should have had a whole lot more compassion, as he actually did before his private Hell began. Zeitoun is a hardworking man who owns a paint company, and does construction work in addition to owning real estate. He is a considerate and concerned landlord and employer. One of the duties he performs is helping people board up their homes when a storm is coming. He also makes repairs and restores the homes of yesteryear paying careful attention to detail. Since his English is not the best, Kathy fields the phone calls, mans the desk and arranges the schedule for him. They are always relaying messages back and forth to each other during each day. Both from large family backgrounds, they are extremely proud of what they have accomplished with their lives. Their work ethic is exemplary. I did briefly wonder if he employed illegals, since he does employ a lot of transient workers, but that was not addressed in the book although the fear of being targeted as an Arab was most definitely addressed. I also wondered about some of the political undertones but I was never sure about which side they were coming down upon. Zeitoun does feel that Muslims are unjustly targeted and after learning of his experiences, although it was during a rare and unusual situation, it does make you stop and think about that yourself. The book definitely addresses issues of racism, Muslim profiling and the injustice of some of the newly enacted laws put in place to prevent terrorism. The issue of the debacle that was Katrina is handled well; however, I do not think it came down hard enough on the lack of timely, assertive action by Mayor Nagin and Governor Blanco, until it was way too late to prevent disaster. The tragedy was overwhelming and there was no precedent then, as there is now, for the handling of such enormous flooding. Today, coincidentally, the spillways have been opened to relieve the rising flood waters. This will flood the Cajun country in Louisiana and, hopefully, prevent New Orleans and other major cities from the catastrophic effects of flooding, once again. The last time this occurred was 4 decades ago. Thousands will feel

It is a touching, at times chilling story about Hurricane Katrina and the human's rights violations that occurred during the ensuing confusion. Written as a work of literary nonfiction, I found it a surprisingly enjoyable read. A well written story, it makes you feel the suspense, and can be a real page turner at times.

A great book about a family and the tragedy they endured during Hurricane Katrina. Definitely a story that needs to be consumed by people who probably would never consider reading it, sadly.

About the author

DAVE EGGERS is the author of many books, among them The Circle, The Eyes and the Impossible, The Monk of Mokha, A Hologram for the King, What Is the What, and The Museum of Rain. He is the cofounder of 826 Valencia, a youth writing and tutoring center which has inspired dozens of similar nonprofit organizations around the world, and the founder of McSweeney's, an independent publisher. He has been a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Award, and the National Book Critics Circle Award, and is the recipient of the Dayton Literary Peace Prize, the Muhammad Ali Humanitarian Award for Education, and the American Book Award.