Isabella Ng, Period 1, 06/06/2022

Isabella Ng, Period 1, 06/06/2022

Review of Zeitoun by Dave Eggers

The end of the world starts with rain. Or-- in Zeitoun’s case-- a canoe. In the bestseller Zeitoun, Dave Eggers narrates the true and tumultuous account of Syrian immigrant Abdulrahman Zeitoun as he lives through Hurricane Katrina. Zeitoun-- stubbornly faithful to his work as a painter and contractor-- remains in New Orleans to watch over his clients’ property while Kathy and their four children evacuate the city. But it is only after the destruction passes that Zeitoun’s story accelerates into something like dystopia. After reading World War Z, I found Egger’s account of Zeitoun’s spirit and character to be incredibly profound. It was difficult to keep reminding myself that this story was not fiction but indeed someone’s reality. 

The pull of Zeitoun extends far beyond its riveting subject matter. Perhaps the most compelling aspect of this biography resides within Eggers’s writing. For example, Eggers creates suspense by regularly switching between the limited perspectives of Zeitoun and Kathy. Eggers reconstructs scenes from Zeitoun’s life with a balance of flashbacks, description, and dialogue. This reminded me a lot of how Max Brooks crafted storylines in World War Z by first developing intriguing characters first-- which hooked the reader. Similarly, Eggers’s compassionate narration draws the reader deep into the lives of Zeitoun and Kathy, making readers fall in love with the Zeitoun family over and over again. 

Zeitoun’s story is undoubtedly tangled in the political consequences of the United States’s “War on Terror”-- an unprecedented campaign against terrorism following the tragedy of September 11. Zeitoun’s unjust arrest paves the path for a conversation about the systemic wounds in many American institutions. Following Zeitoun’s traumatic accounts of his incarcerated life, Eggers’s “hands-off” narration style fades; the book reads less like a biography and more like a piece of literary journalism. Eggers writes, “... quite clearly, this wasn’t a case of a bad apple or two in the barrel. The barrel itself was rotten.” Eggers is forthright in his analysis of Zeitoun’s experience, skillfully weaving issues of social injustice into a compelling biography. Furthermore, Eggers builds upon this critique through the poetic and complex nature of Zeitoun’s story. Zeitoun’s family is not only devastated by the natural wrath of mother nature-- they are failed by America’s federal institutions, too. This quiet commentary was probably my favorite part about reading Zeitoun. Similarly, in World War Z, I found myself most interested in Max Brooks’s careful creation of the geopolitics in a zombie-infested world. Despite being written years ago, these books feel entirely "new," demonstrating how social awareness and critical analysis should always find a place in our conversations about both literature and life.

But the book is not entirely dark. Even in the flooded mess of his neighborhood, Zeitoun’s unyielding sense of hope prevails. Through Zeitoun’s eyes, readers meet the resolute residents of New Orleans as Zeitoun ventures into the city, rescuing civilians and animals. A practical man, Zeitoun braves the worst of the storm with an attitude that is unmistakably promising. Furthermore, Eggers cuts the dramatic nature of the memoir by describing seemingly insignificant activities (Kathy running her hands through her daughter’s hair, Zeitoun lying down to smell the strawberry shampoo on his daughter’s pillowcase). Although these details seem mundane, they add a relatable and humane third dimension to these characters. Above all, family and religion are the ultimate forces that propel Zeitoun through the events in this book. While Kathy and the kids bounce between neighbor and friend to find comfort, Zeitoun nestles himself deeper into his community. In their most desperate and overwhelming moments, Zeitoun and Kathy pray. Eggers perfectly weaves these threads of faith and love into every corner of Zeitoun, reminding the reader that this is not a story about destruction, but a story about restoration. “Yes, a dark time passed over this land,” Eggers writes, “but now there is something like light.”

Zeitoun is an exceptionally crafted biography. This family’s story is searing, and their love is deafening. I find myself forgetting that this is a work of non-fiction-- that these stories belong to real people-- and that Zeitoun is still out there: rebuilding and rebuilding and rebuilding.