Zeitoun

By Dave Eggers

A riveting account of Hurricane Katrina and a shocking tale of wrongful arrest and racism, Zeitoun is the true story of one Syrian-American, plucked from his home and accused of terrorism, written by one of America's most high-profile literary writers, now available for the first time in paperback from Vintage Canada.

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 the storm, he traveled the flooded streets in a secondhand canoe, passing on supplies and helping those he could. A week later 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 which what happened to Abdulrahman Zeitoun was possible. Like What Is the What, Zeitoun was written in close collaboration with its subjects and involved vast research — in this case, in the United States, Spain, and Syria.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
• Release date: Jun 8, 2010
• ISBN: 9780307399076

Dave Eggers

Dave Eggers is the author of many books, including Her Right Foot, The Circle, and A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius. He is the cofounder of Voice of Witness, 826 National, and ScholarMatch, which connects donors and under-resourced students to make college possible. He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Reviews for Zeitoun

[patl_53 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Perhaps because of the cover, I assumed this was a fictional tale. It’s not, though I wish it were.

Zeitoun tells the story of a resident of New Orleans resident, Abdulrahman Zeitoun, and his wife Kathy and children, in the midst and aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. It begins as a humanitarian tale, with Zeitoun staying behind in the family house to take care of it and elderly neighbors and pets in the hurricane and its aftermatch.

But the story morphs as Zeitoun is detained in the days following Katrina, accused of being an Al Qaeda terrorist based on vague hysteria. The story is told from Abdulrahman’s experience as well as Kathy’s in his imprisonment. It is the stuff of a great action thriller, except that this story happened to one family of American citizens.

[eoin-311239 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Looking for something about Katrina(the hurricane)? This is just the kind of ground-level, lived-through history I like best. Beautifully, engagingly, and simply written; Eggers makes it seem easy. Worth it for the opening paragraph alone.

[beth.clarke · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Part of me wishes I would have stopped reading at page 300. It's just sad. And the story gets more heartbreaking when I read how Zeitoun is doing today. The book is well written. I liked how the characters were developed including Zeitoun's childhood in Syria. It's fast-paced and hard to put down.

[whitewavedarling · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Eggers is a master of weaving together various threads and bringing personalities to life--here, in this book set up primarily against the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, his talents are on full display. In focusing in on a single man and his family, Zeitoun tells the story of a family of New Orleans, taking us through their history, their separation during the storm, and the Kafka-esque days they faced after the storm passed. Pulling together everything from religion to racism, not to mention immigration and the socio-political forces at work at every turn, Eggers manages to bring to life not just the hurricane that ravaged New Orleans (which he does masterfully), but to bring to life a number of men and women who lived through it. The result is at turns heartbreaking and terrifying, though there's a fair bit of humor thrown in, and it's sometimes difficult to remember that this is a true history of a family and a storm, it reads so much like a suspenseful drama.I don't think this book can be compared to any other piece of nonfiction regarding immigration or natural disaster, because its scope is so wide and its detailing so careful, but there is no question that it is worth reading--perhaps now more than ever for US residents especially, considering the environmental and socio-political obstacles in the future.Absolutely recommended.

[junipersun · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This account held my attention, perhaps because I hadn't previously read any personal accounts of someone who had been present during the Katrina hurricane disaster in New Orleans.Eggers focuses on one couple: Zeitoun and Kathy, beginning with scenes from their younger years which help us understand their strengths, values, and relationship. This is mixed in with events later, but each section is clearly identified by a date header so I had no difficulty following. We understand that Zeitoun's choice was rooted in his family history of being the best one can be, and that he had the skills and strength to remain behind and take care of his neighborhood and properties. And then events go madly awry as National Guardsmen assume he is a looter or worse, because of his Middle Eastern appearance.Some chapters give an overview of events while others go into the specific details so at times I felt like I had read something before, but that technique did help to reinforce important points.More than just an account of how a children and parents were affected by the separation caused by evacuation and the ways in which some rescue relief efforts were sidetracked by agendas of hate and greed, it is an exposition of how the US governmental system was incompetent in ensuring justice was carried out.

[bibliosk8er_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is a very powerful book. I really can't say enough good things about it. Everyone should read it.

[seriousgrace · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

For the rest of the world, Hurricane Katrina and the aftermath of her horrible devastation are receding images in the rear view mirror; images replaced by other natural and man-made disasters of bigger and nastier proportions. To the rest of the world what happened in New Orleans is fast becoming a series of footnotes in history's troubled narrative. But, for the people of New Orleans, the nightmare is far from over. Zeitoun is just one man's story. A man who stayed to wait out the storm. A man who tried to help those in need wherever and however he could. A man caught up in racial profiling, prejudices, and fast-ignited bad judgements. There were hundred of stories just like his. Dave Eggers makes the story more interesting than run of the mill.

[sraelling · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

incredible. Nonfiction about aftermath of Katrina from the perspective of an Arab business owner who stayed behind to keep an eye on his rental properties and painting business. Wife and children had left for Texas and stayed at a "friend's" house. The friendship was strained due to 9/11 and the wife's decision (American) to become Muslim. The family left for other friends in AZ. Sometimes we Americans are not kind.

[jamiebh-1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I just could not finish reading this knowing what I know about Zeitoun...every interaction between this couple captured by Eggers feels slimy and gross. Such a shame because I think Eggers is a great storyteller.

[livelylady · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A Syrian man, Zeitoun, decides to ride out Hurricane Katrina, at his home in New Orleans. He is a contractor and has several rental units around town. His wife and children leave town for safety's sake. This book chronicles his experience preparing for the storm, during and post-hurricane. Very, very good. Demonstrates how ill prepared FEMA was and how it effected Zeitoun, as well as others.

[emed0s · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

This book is nothing more than a hagiography, just an askew view of a man and a family in an effort to paint them as perfect cause that's the politically correct way.As much as Mr. Eggers brilliant writing permeates every page so do this hagiography inconsistencies (i.e. lies) every so often.The fact is that the hard working father that never takes a vacation, as we are told in a quite elaborate couple of pages, we later find out, in the same book, goes on vacation for as long, and as far (Spain, Syria) as anybody else.The quaint mom&pop small business run from home, is not really run from home but from an office in a dedicated building and is not so small as it has at least a dozen workers at any time and a side real state operation. So kudos to them but it's insulting being told for the first 50 or 100 pages one cute little story only to discover the contradicting facts further along.And in the middle of the constant hammering about the purity and sanctity of this Muslim family somehow is ok for them to become racists themselves and discriminate about other nationalities/religions based on just rumors and personal bias ... as in this lovely little passage:"That was it, she realized. Her husband was an Arab, and there were Israeli paramilitaries on the ground in the city."As it happens so many times the author could have sticked to reality and come out of it with a really good book, as the breakdown of the judicial system was very much as real and terrible as he describes but his pink shaded glasses and political correctness blindness make this a biased account of the facts.

[angiestahl-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Not my favorite Eggers, but solid in its own right and a very manageable read. Paced more like fiction than non. This is a window into Hurricane Katrina through the perspective and experience of one particular family (and really the male head of the household at that). It's empathetic and warmly written, but it's one man/family's truth or personal account versus comprehensive or objective reporting. If you like your non-fiction more on the personal side and/or drawn to understand more deeply the impact of Katrina (or other natural disasters), this should make your list.

[cgottlieb-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Excellent account of how one family survived Hurricane Katrina, and the lawlessness that occurred in its aftermath.

[jilliantow · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This book was a speed read for me. I stayed up super late reading this and woke up in the morning desperately wanting to finish it. I liked the writing style but I felt that the flashbacks were a bit unnecessary and slowed the story down a bit too much. I had never heard Zeitoun's story and was completely appalled by the situation he was placed. I found it absolutely depressing to read about the recent news about him and his wife.

[trinitym82 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is nonfiction but it reads like fiction - like suspense. It is horribly frustrating because of how people did stupid shit during hurricane Katrina - and how people's stupid prejudices overtake them during times of stress and fear. It's a good choice for multicultural literature cause it is the story of a Muslim family when the prejudice against muslims was still rampant and it is a straight retelling of facts, so you don't get a viewpoint - you get to make your own.

[jmitty-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

You will not forget this book... It is a thought-provoking, terrifying and hopeful accounting of what turns out to be much more than a natural disaster. I highly recommend it.

[bookishjojo · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I think this book should be required reading. What an example of how badly wrong things can go during times of disaster and distress. The care that went into the writing of this book is evidenced by the narrative: strong, compelling and caring yet still journalistic. The pages and pages of cited references add heft to the facts within the book.

[janepriceestrada · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

[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.

[steve02476 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I would have given this four stars, because it's interesting and well-written, but right after reading it I found out that Zeitoun has long behaved horribly to his (now ex-) wife. That doesn't justify his treatment by the authorities and it doesn't affect the fact that I enjoyed the book as I was reading it, but it surely has soured me on the book. Dave Eggers did a mountain of research on this book and had not a word about Zeitoun being in any way rough or worse with Kathy. Possibly he had some knowledge about it but covered it up? I think it's more likely that Eggars never realized it. But that doesn't give me any confidence in the thoroughness of the research and reporting then, that's for sure. If the book had only been about Zeitoun's experiences during and after the flood the omission might have been ok but an awful lot of the book was about their relationship -- so I feel kind of hoodwinked. Too bad.

[kslade-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Very good and heart-rending true story of a man caught up by circumstances around Katrina.

[sarah220-732610 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is a powerful and painful story to hear. Although, it starts off feeling a little slow, Eggers is just being meticulous about painting the picture and allowing us to fully know the Zeitoun family. Halfway through, suspense builds and the story becomes fascinating and horrifying. There were points that I actually wanted to stop reading it but at the same time I felt I needed to know what happened. This is a moving and gripping tale of the best and worst of people and America.

[librolindsay · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I have yet to read a report of Katrina/post-Katrina New Orleans that isn't heart-wrenching and enraging. This is another example.

[librarycin · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Zietoun (pronounced Zay-toon) and his wife Kathy lived in New Orleans when Hurricane Katrina hit. Zietoun ran a painting/consulting business. They had 4 kids at the time. Kathy evacuated with the kids and Zeitoun stayed behind to keep watch on his home, plus the rental properties that they owned. It wasn’t long before things got really bad for him, while Kathy couldn’t get ahold of him and had no idea what had happened... This was really good. There were a few parts – mostly Zietoun’s background in Syria – that I kind of lost focus, but the rest of it was really good. I did see a sort-of “spoiler” when I was only part-way through that I wish I hadn’t seen, though it wasn’t specifically about the storyline.

[dara85 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I loved this book! It really gave you a feel of what it was like after Hurricane Katrina.

[carmenere_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I thought I knew everything there was to know about this hurricane but little did I know this book would be such an eyeopener. On the surface, this is the story about mega Hurricane Katrina, which in 2005 brought devastation to the city of New Orleans and it's residents, in particular a Syrian-American named Abdulraman Zeitoun and his family. Known as Zeitoun throughout the city for his dependable and conscientious painting and construction business and by his family as a loving, devoted father and stubborn workaholic he chose to stay in New Orleans and weather out the storm while his family left for higher ground.The storm raged and cleared, the flooding soon subsided but then...... the levees burst. Urged by this family to leave the city, Zeitoun again chose to stay. He was rescuing people and animals, surely it was God's will that he remain. Yet, the affects of another storm still had the country and government on edge, 9/11.What happens to Zeitoun in the days and weeks following Katrina reveal the fear, ineptitude and incompetence of a nation facing two catastrophes with little guidance and too much bureaucracy. Highly recommend.

[rdra1962 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Put down Matterhorn to read this for BookClub. Interesting juxtaposition of the jungles of Vietnam and the 3rd world country New Orleans became in the aftermath of Katrina. You've heard the horror stories of Katrina, but this is one family's personal tale, and it is not pretty!

[mlbelize · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

This was too much of a one-sided fluff piece, a problem of so many journalists, for my taste. The story had potential but Eggers couldn't pull it off.

[hemlokgang · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A deeply troubling account of one family's experience during and after Hurricane Katrina. The book is a reminder of the horrific consequences of the right hand not knowing what the left hand is doing. Living in the United States with politically incorrect skin color continues to be a perpetually possible nightmare. No answers suggested in this book, just the truth of one family's nightmare come true.

[klburnside · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This book gives a good account of one man's life during Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath. I was living in a media vacuum during Hurricane Katrina, so I really never got the idea of how horrible things were in New Orleans after the storm. It is really saddening that in many ways the storm brought out the worst in humanity. I guess I have an idealistic notion that when disaster strikes people will band together and rise above what nature has thrown at them.

I originally gave this book four stars, but I am trying to be more conservative with my ratings. I found the writing to be a little dry compared with other things I have read by Eggers, and in some parts I just wasn't very captivated by the way the story was told. Despite the three star rating, I would still recommend it.

[stevesmits · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Zeitoun gives us a scary glimpse into the breakdown of social and legal systems in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. While it's the personal story of the injustice visited on one man, it chills the reader to realize how thin is the margin between the boundaries of a civil society and chaos. Abdulaman Zeitoun is a Syrian immigrant who has succeeded in the United States. He comes from a proud and hard working family and in line with their admirable work ethic, he established a prosperous painting contracting business in New Orleans and married a native Louisiana women who had converted to Islam. They appear to have a loving and close-knit family.As Hurricane Katrina approaches the family debates whether to evacuate. Kathy and the children leave to stay with her family in Baton Rouge. Zeitoun is determined to ride out the storm so he can look after rental properties they own and keep an eye on his business assets. Like tens of thousands of other New Orleanians Zeitoun soon realizes that the effects of the storm are much more devastating than anticipated. His house is flooded but he has a canoe that he uses to paddle around the city doing as many good deeds as he can. He is able to stay dry in a rental home that has not been flooded. His family worries about him but he reassures them via frequent cell phone contact.A few days into the catastrophe armed police and National Guardsmen burst into his home and arrest him. Because of some property seen in the home they have concluded that he and his associates are looters. Looting, of course, was widespread throughout the city and one of the ugliest consequences of the storm. Zeitoun is whisked off to a makeshift lockup facility where the conditions are deplorable. He can get no legal representation and cannot contact his family. For a time, due to his ethnicity, he is suspected of being a terrorist but later inquiry by agents of Homeland Security disabuse this misapprehension. His family becomes frantic when they have not heard from him in days but they can gather no information about his well-being or whereabouts.Zeitoun and the others are taken to a state prison where they are kept without legal representation for several weeks. Finally, through the unstinting efforts of family and friends he is freed, although the authorities still propose to charge him with misdemeanors. He finally clears his name.The point of Zeitoun's experience is not that the legal system failed one man; sadly, this happens all too often. More deeply, it tells us that the civic, social and legal ties that bind us are very fragile. The looting that broke out after the storm was deplorable (another author has made the moral distinction between taking goods necessary for survival -- food, water, medicine -- and the wanton stealing and destruction that was seen in and around New Orleans), but that the response to looting brought with it complete disregard for the rule of law that the authorities are obliged to follow is disturbing.For another and broader view of how our civic institutions failed so abysmally David Brinkley's book "The Deluge" is recommended. As well, the horrific story of the inability to protect vulnerable sick people at Memorial Hospital is told in "Five Days at Memorial".Checking in on the Zeitoun's after the resolution of his legal problems reveals a sad outcome for Zeitoun and his wife. They divorced and he was later convicted with assault and charged with conspiring to have her murdered, a charge of which he was found innocent. They seemed in the story to be such a loving and loyal couple that perhaps the strain of their experience in Katrina was too much to sustain their ties.