Zeitoun - David Eggers
Title: Zeitoun
Author: Dave Eggers
Genre: (Auto)biographical, non-fiction
Publisher: Penguin Books, 2009
Pages: Paperback, 335
Language: English
Rating: 8/10
Summary: The personal story of Abdulrahman Zeitoun, a contracter and homeowner in New Orleans, who stayed behind when hurricane Katrina hit the town in 2005, to keep an eye on his properties and tennants while his wife and children found refuge with family up north.
Review
As in What Is The What David Eggers turned a real person's autobiographical story into a novel, based on interviews with the main characters and extensive research of the event.
It's already unreal what Zeitoun experiences after the flood, but his story gets even more unbelievable after government troups finally arrive in New Orleans, presumably to help victims. Zeitoun and his friends however are thought to be terrorists and they are locked up in a -surprisingly fast build- emergency prisoncamp without any explanation.
What happens next is a gruesome account of the horrifying speed with which a society falls into chaos when people fail to communicate.
The attention for religion in this book frustrated me, but whether I like it or not it is a part of society and therefore it serves its purpose not only for Zeitoun and his family, but also for the people in power. Besides that -personal- issue, I highly recommend this, especially since it gives such a harsh look on where mankind is headed if we keep basing our decisions on ignorance and fear instead of common sense.
Author: Dave Eggers
Genre: (Auto)biographical, non-fiction
Publisher: Penguin Books, 2009
Pages: Paperback, 335
Language: English
Rating: 8/10
Summary: The personal story of Abdulrahman Zeitoun, a contracter and homeowner in New Orleans, who stayed behind when hurricane Katrina hit the town in 2005, to keep an eye on his properties and tennants while his wife and children found refuge with family up north.
Review
As in What Is The What David Eggers turned a real person's autobiographical story into a novel, based on interviews with the main characters and extensive research of the event.
It's already unreal what Zeitoun experiences after the flood, but his story gets even more unbelievable after government troups finally arrive in New Orleans, presumably to help victims. Zeitoun and his friends however are thought to be terrorists and they are locked up in a -surprisingly fast build- emergency prisoncamp without any explanation.
What happens next is a gruesome account of the horrifying speed with which a society falls into chaos when people fail to communicate.
The attention for religion in this book frustrated me, but whether I like it or not it is a part of society and therefore it serves its purpose not only for Zeitoun and his family, but also for the people in power. Besides that -personal- issue, I highly recommend this, especially since it gives such a harsh look on where mankind is headed if we keep basing our decisions on ignorance and fear instead of common sense.