Zeitoun

by Dave Eggers

In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, longtime New Orleans residents Abdulrahman and Kathy Zeitoun are cast into an unthinkable struggle with forces beyond wind and water. In this startling and deeply humane work of non-fiction, readers will witness the US's worst natural disaster through new eyes, encountering all the hope and contradiction of a unique moment in American history.

• ISBN10: 024114485X
• ISBN13: 9780241144855
• Publish Date: 2 July 2009
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 28 January 2010
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
• Imprint: Hamish Hamilton Ltd
• Format: Paperback
• Pages: 320
• Language: English

Reviews

[jamiereadthis]

This is an excellent book, an important book, and it’s completely emotionally exhausting. The impotent moral outrage of how quickly our lumbering freight train of democracy can break down, how useless a person is to stand against it. I’m going to have to take a break before I start What Is The What or I might not make it through.

Admittedly, the first couple chapters struck a few of my pet peeves of non-fiction: ascribing specifics where they likely wouldn’t be remembered, or painting its subjects a bit too rosily. But then again, I know more than my share of folks like the Zeitouns, and on paper they would have to seem too good to be true.

Once Katrina hits the ground, though, I couldn’t put it down. Small quibbles aside: this is a story that needs to be read.