Zeitoun (pronounced Zay-toon) is the story of a family in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina who find themselves at the unfortunate crossroads of the FEMA Katrina fiasco and the Homeland Security's "War on Terror." The Zeitoun family, you see, is Muslim. And after days of paddling his small canoe around NOLA, rescuing neighbors, feeding abandoned local dogs, and faithfully calling his wife, Kathy, (who had evacuated to Arizona with their four children) daily, Abdulrahman Zeitoun was arrested and held for weeks, without trial, in inhumane and barbaric conditions, on suspicion of being a terrorist for no other reason than being a practicing Muslim born in Syria.
Being a Bay Area native in the age range I like to think of as "hipster-adjacent," Eggers is very much a household name. He's one of the founders of one of my favorite literary sites/charity organizations, McSweeney's/826 Valencia (complete with Pirate supply store -- more on pirates in future posts), as well as a frequent interviewer and guest in the City Arts & Lectures series. However, until fellow trip leader Chuck loaned me this book, I had only seen him and never read any of his writing. Eggers is not just a writer, but a true journalist. He completed extensive interviews with everyone he could who was even minutely connected to the Zeitoun's story, and thoroughly researched all the events leading up to, during, and after the hurricane to present as accurate a context as possible. On top of all of that, he paints a heart-wrenching picture of the agony Kathy undergoes not knowing what has happened to her husband, and the confusion, anxiety, and physical pain Abdulrahman went through during his time incarcerated.
It was a quick read but an absolutely moving story.
Rating: Four and a half (out of five) paintbrushes.
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