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When Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans, Abdulrahman Zeitoun, a prosperous Syrian-American and father of four, chose to stay through the storm to protect his house and contracting business. In the days after, he traveled the flooded streets in a secondhand canoe, passing on supplies and helping those
… More »When Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans, Abdulrahman Zeitoun, a prosperous Syrian-American and father of four, chose to stay through the storm to protect his house and contracting business. In the days after, he traveled the flooded streets in a secondhand canoe, passing on supplies and helping those he could. But, on September 6, 2005, Zeitoun abruptly disappeared. Eggers's riveting nonfiction book, three years in the making, explores Zeitoun's roots in Syria, his marriage to Kathy - an American who converted to Islam - and their children, and the surreal atmosphere (in New Orleans and the United States generally) in which what happened to Abdulrahman Zeitoun became possible. Like What Is the What, Zeitoun was written in close collaboration with its subjects and involved vast research - in this case, in the U.S., Spain, and Syria.
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Add a SummaryAn excellent account of the days leading up to and following the devastation of New Orleans by Hurricane Katrina as seen through the eyes of a hard working and caring citizen, Abdulrahman Zeitoun. The final third of the book also offers insight into the questionable priorities of FEMA under the direction of Homeland Security as Syrian-American Zeitoun falls into the hands of police and is under suspicion of terrorism. Haunting and unforgettable.
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Dave Eggers on Zeitoun
Whitman College professors discuss Zeitoun
In 2010, the incoming class of freshmen at Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington, read Zeitoun by Dave Eggers for a common book project.
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Add a CommentIt turns out that Kathy and Abdulrachman are now divorced. When he was jailed for assaulting her, he tried to hire a fellow inmate to murder her. No kidding, look it up. You can't make this stuff up. I'm not quite finished reading the book and feel profoundly let-down.
Just placed a hold on this book and would rather not have read things in the comments that give the story away. Please be careful what you post!
Nail-biting bit of journalism, an account of the New Orleans flood. Great writing.
A staggering harrowing account of one family's experience dealing with the aftermath of official incompetence and worse in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Moving and unforgettable, I am recommending this book to every book lover I know.
A unique account of the events leading up to and immediately following Hurricane Katrina. The narrative is told from the joint perspectives of Zeitoun, a Muslim originally from Syria, and his wife Kathy, a native Louisianan. Together they piece together a harrowing true story of what happened in New Orleans. This is a real page turner that will surprise, shock, and at times warm your heart.
Another unforgettable true story from Eggers. Shocking and heart-breaking, but also a story about that glimmer of human goodness.
Simply one of the best books I've read in decades. Thank you to Mr. Eggers for telling this story.
I've read better books about Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath than this book by Dave Eggers. I loved and treasure Egger's previous book, What is the What, so I was surprised at how disappointed I was in this one. Instead of focusing on Katrina, the book focused on a Syrian man in America named Zeitoun (granted I should've been prepared since Eggers named the book Zeitoun). But instead I was aggravated that out of all the thousands of heart-breaking stories in New Orleans the author picked this very atypical one. I understand and condemn the outrageous injustice perpetrated by the U.S. against Zeitoun but I felt the Katrina story was muddled by all the information about Syrian life, Zeitoun's family history, the Muslim faith and the fear of terrorism. If I'd been expecting that, I probably would've read it with great interest but I was expecting Katrina from beginning to end and that wasn't this book.
Everyone should read this book - Hurricane Katrina as experienced from the perspective of a middle class Muslim family. How could this happen in this day and age in the United States of America? How this family managed to recover and go on is a tribute to their strength, faith and belief in hard work.
Dave Eggers is a much better writer when he is not talking about himself. This book broke my heart - the ravaging of a beautiful and unique city, the lack of government response to the damage, and the completely unjust treatment of a local hero. A phenomenal, can't-put-down read.