Some thoughts on Zeitoun.

Eggers tells the tale of Abdulrahman Zeitoun and his experiences before and after Katrina. He mainly keeps himself out of the story but the brushstrokes of where he wants the reader to end up are visible at times. Deftly done, and it doesn't expand into propaganda. The impact of the story is focused on the martial law period following Katrina. Thousands of people ended up with heavy footed, jack-booted clad feet on their throats. A 73 year-old woman ends up being held for more than a week for retrieving sausages from the trunk of her own car. Homeland Security and the rules it operates under practically guarantee civil rights abuse. Claims of national security interests trump civil rights issues in that department's eyes. The New Orleans police department didn't exactly have an outstanding reputation before Katrina and the mixture of that weak department, the military, and Homeland Security trying to restore order ended up being a messy affair. Parts of the aftermath are still playing out in political circles and the court system. Eggers illuminates some of these issues.

Zeituon is a hardworking Syrian-American who settled in New Orleans, married a Louisiana native and they are raising a family together. Like most couples, they have their problems but they were making it work. Abdulrahman has his own construction contracting company and is something of a workaholic. They also own several rentals. Getting him to take family vacations was a battle every time.

This obsessiveness, while understandable, led to his experiences during and after Katrina. He passed through the storm and the levee breaches unscathed. During this time his wife and his brother pleaded with him several times to leave. Keep the family together and work through the hardships as a unit rather than be split up during this period. Zeitoun was adamant in his refusal to evacuate even though there were several opportunities to get out. He had a old used canoe that he used to rescue some stranded neighbors and fed some trapped dogs. It was God's will that he was where he was he would say. Then he was arrested. All of a sudden the God's will reasoning went away and the thoughts of being reunited with family came to the fore. If one believes in a deity that is in control of every part of one's life then it seems the bad should be a part of that belief along with the good. The loss of freedom turned his thoughts to family that probably should have been there before the loss of freedom.

Zeitoun is not a uncaring or cruel man. He has his flaws like anyone else does. After he was released he restarted his business and bought some more rentals. He is changed but his wife is changed even more and not for the better. I found myself wondering if and when the next evacuation order comes, will Abdulrahman leave or stay? ( )

I absolutely love it when a book isn't what I expected. I knew Zeitoun was about a family in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, and, um, I wasn't too interested in reading it. But, whoa, did I get sucked into Abdulrahman Zeitoun's life. He is a respected contractor who has lived in New Orleans for years. He stays in the city during the evacuation so that he can check on his properties and help people out. And, so he does. For days, he uses his canoe to paddle around the neighborhoods, feeding dogs and rescuing people stranded in their homes. But eventually everyone starts to leave the city. Looters are everywhere and people are getting desparate, even the officers. Zeitoun is arrested for something. Um, really, something. He isn't really told what he's arrested for and he doesn't even get to call his wife or a lawyer. He's kept in a makeshift prison/kennel in the Greyhound station and taken to a maximum security prison north of town. He's denied medical treatment, denied his phone call, and accused of being Taliban and a terrorist. Ha! I'm embarrassed by how this good man was treated by Americans responsible for upholding our laws. Eggers doesn't preach as he writes this book and never even mentions George Bush, but the reader is allowed to draw his or her own conclusions. To me--corruption. New Orleans=corruption. ( )

Zeitoun was a quick read, although a hard read - hard to believe the realities of New Orleans becoming a police state post Katrina. It's an eye opener in many ways. Definitely worth the read. It's also a beautifully made book - thank you McSweeney's. ( )

Zeitoun tells the story of a Muslim-American family in New Orleans. The mother and children leave for the store, while the husband stays behind. He and several other men are arrested and spend several months in various impromptu jail situations before being released.

First, the story is very fast moving. The writing is crisp and informative without being dry. This was my first Eggers and I will definitely read more of his work.

What Zeitoun manages to avoid is the pitfall of most post-Katrina books about New Orleans which is the forced insertion of every New Orleans personality, location, author’s favorite bar, food, and stereotype. Some of the characters and situations are recognizable to me because they read as real. This seems to be the case with the religious aspects as well, from my limited experience with Muslim-Americans.

The story is hard and tragic and not entirely hopeful. It is the way life is – sometimes good, sometimes bad – and you do what you have to do to get by. Life in south Louisiana has been this way for a long time. Most people can tell you stories of their parents, grandparents, great-grandparents struggles. The stories are never disheartening and never heart-warming, but they are solid in a way that everyday life is. Perhaps there is a kind of hope in that. ( )

This is a great book. The story is incredible, since the reality itself of what happend is incredible. Plus, It is perfectly written. ( )