Tuesday, May 24, 2011

"This country was not unique. This country was fallible. Mistakes were being made."

Zeitoun, Dave Eggers 


Another highly recommended read for everyone out there.... Zeitoun is a riveting true-life account of a Syrian family man living in New Orleans at the time of the devastating Hurrican Katrina.  The story is unique from others which center on this infamous natural disaster by revealing another form of racism that is not nearly as spoken about in connection to New Orleans but certainly just as relevant.  It details the 'profiling' treatment that Abdulrahman Zeitoun, an owner of a construction company, husband to a Caucasian American woman, a father of three children, and yes, also a practicing Muslim, endured in the aftermath of Katrina.

Confused? Intrigued? Incredulous? Yup, so was I when I first read the synopsis.  I was interested to see how two seemingly separate politically charged issues (war on terror and Hurricane Katrina) could be intertwined.  But, by the end of the book it becomes clear.

Just as disturbing as the political and social issues explored in this novel is the incredible ability of the author to allow an true insider perspective for the reader.  While reading about the massive devastation caused by the hurricane, I felt nearly transported to the surreal underwater world that New Orleans had become in 2005.   We've all seen the pictures and footage from that era, but to be able to read about the minute to minute struggles of a man who was one of the few people who consciously chose to stay in the city is something entirely different. As Zeitoun travels around his neighborhood by canoe, the reader is right along beside him.

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