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librovermo's review against another edition
DNF - Before I started this book, I read the truth about Zeitoun. He’s a horrible man who has done horrible things. He’s been arrested several times. He’s abused his wife and tried to have her killed. He’s just a terrible bastard and when he dies the world will be better off.
Zeitoun likely lied about most of the events in this book. Knowing that, but also knowing that I spent money on the book, I decided to read it as fiction. I imagine the events depicted in the book at least loosely mirror some experiences of other people who suffered through Hurricane Katrina, so why not read and learn about them?
But I can’t do it. The writing is great, I just hate reading about Zeitoun being a beloved member of the community and a loving husband and father when I know he isn’t. I can’t force myself to read that as fiction.
I can read another Dave Eggers book. I can Read and learn about the events of Hurricane Katrina in many other ways. This is not it.
Zeitoun likely lied about most of the events in this book. Knowing that, but also knowing that I spent money on the book, I decided to read it as fiction. I imagine the events depicted in the book at least loosely mirror some experiences of other people who suffered through Hurricane Katrina, so why not read and learn about them?
But I can’t do it. The writing is great, I just hate reading about Zeitoun being a beloved member of the community and a loving husband and father when I know he isn’t. I can’t force myself to read that as fiction.
I can read another Dave Eggers book. I can Read and learn about the events of Hurricane Katrina in many other ways. This is not it.
savaging's review against another edition
3.0
Zietoun is great journalism: an intense personal story with broad policy implications, told carefully and thoroughly and with the full consensus and participation of the protagonists. I've heard explanations for why it was a bad idea to militarize post-Katrina New Orleans, but I'm a social animal, and the description of the horrors that happen to a guy with a name in a canoe does something for me.
But the book doesn't function as a work of art. The protagonists don't cast a shadow. They are heroes. They are up against the villains. This is probably a natural consequence of a writing process that is so closely tied to the approval of the Zeitoun family. Maybe you can't make art about someone you can't betray. Comparisons are drawn between this book and [b:The Executioner's Song|12468|The Executioner's Song|Norman Mailer|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1325755176s/12468.jpg|838965], with the explanation that Eggers is more "heartfelt" and "humanist" than Mailer, but Mailer's less-loveable characters have development at least, and an internal life. The admirable Zeitouns are living at the surface.
This is why it's such a scandal to discover that since the book was published, the protagonists have divorced and Kathy has accused Zeitoun of trying to kill her. Such news is indigestible for the shadowless heroes in the book.
Is it only horrible injustice if it happens to good, 'decent' people?
Having read Eggers at his cleverest, I can admire that he puts aside his wordplay to tell a story as plainly as possible, in words that fit with the characters themselves. Yes, I can admire this. And then I hope the next thing I read has some more musicality to it, because the lines hit me flat like newsprint or gospel tracts.
But the book doesn't function as a work of art. The protagonists don't cast a shadow. They are heroes. They are up against the villains. This is probably a natural consequence of a writing process that is so closely tied to the approval of the Zeitoun family. Maybe you can't make art about someone you can't betray. Comparisons are drawn between this book and [b:The Executioner's Song|12468|The Executioner's Song|Norman Mailer|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1325755176s/12468.jpg|838965], with the explanation that Eggers is more "heartfelt" and "humanist" than Mailer, but Mailer's less-loveable characters have development at least, and an internal life. The admirable Zeitouns are living at the surface.
This is why it's such a scandal to discover that since the book was published, the protagonists have divorced and Kathy has accused Zeitoun of trying to kill her. Such news is indigestible for the shadowless heroes in the book.
Is it only horrible injustice if it happens to good, 'decent' people?
Having read Eggers at his cleverest, I can admire that he puts aside his wordplay to tell a story as plainly as possible, in words that fit with the characters themselves. Yes, I can admire this. And then I hope the next thing I read has some more musicality to it, because the lines hit me flat like newsprint or gospel tracts.
plattcraig's review against another edition
4.0
Having lived in New Orleans from 1996 - 2000 I have a very strong affection for the city. I have not been back since Katrina, but I do know that the people of New Orleans are kind, resilient and extremely quick to help a neighbor (except for the the neighbors I had while living at 2426 Calhoun St., those ladies should burn in hell.) Eggers does a wonderful job of reporting here. He rarely gives the reader his opinion, instead allowing for the story of the Zeitoun family to unfold. As the Zeitoun's saw the storm, the city and it's recovery. That's all we get as a reader and because the Zeitoun's are such an ordinary and hard working American family, we get a truly honest rendering of life before, during and after the storm.
I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to see into the city of New Orleans during the storm. And to anyone who wants a glimpse of the American dream.
I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to see into the city of New Orleans during the storm. And to anyone who wants a glimpse of the American dream.
drusmilford's review against another edition
5.0
Enjoyed the book and enlightened me to a better understanding of the devestation of Hurricane Katrina. I had to think about how to rate the book. Once finished with the book, google Zeitoun.
bookie936's review against another edition
2.0
i started out loving the book but made the mistake of looking him up IRL and couldn't get past the fact that he's in prison now for trying to murder his wife and her son. so i returned the book to the library. -_-
libvin96's review against another edition
4.0
This book was a fascinating page turner and for the first time in awhile, I felt like I didn't want to put a book down until I was done. So clearly Dave Eggers' writing is pretty good. I couldn't give it the full five stars though due to the credible sources I discovered through other reviews showing that this is likely not true and that the "hero" of the story abused his wife and his business committed fraud. Even before I found that out, there were many points in the book where I kind of paused and questioned the credibility. The novel really plays up the good Samaritan vibes in Zeitoun, which is to contrast it with how horribly and unjustly he was treated by the judicial system. But it is admittedly hard to believe that a 47-year-old man who wasn't a strength trainer was just able to MacGyver his way through his flooded neighborhood, rescuing people, casually walking across planks eight feet above putrid water every day to feed dogs he didn't know - all without a hitch or any fear. It does sound like the heroics were exaggerated, and I can definitely see a lot of this story possibly being a fraud as other reviewers have suggested. I still found the book very important in how it discussed the intersections of Katrina, 9/11, womanhood, and Muslim identity. The attention to Camp Greyhound and the disparity between the government's idea of "order" and what the people in the city desperately needed to survive is also incredibly important. The topics and intersections of the book are very well woven, Eggers did some solid writing, but unfortunately the credibility is shot.