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A review by tittypete
Zeitoun by Dave Eggers
5.0
Man, I loved this book. Cleanly and efficiently written. I flew through it. The Katrina back drop was fascinating as well as the basic story of human rights being trampled on when we as a country are faced with a challenge. This book made me angry, indignant and, for a moment, more of a liberal. So for the pleasure of reading an exquisite and fascinating story I give the book 5 stars.
But then I read about Zeitoun's wife beating and Islamic radicalization and I can't help but wonder if the title character was whitewashed a bit to make for a more palatable protagonist. If he was an asshole muslim guy I probably wouldn't have been as outraged by his mistreatment. I'll admit I'm being a bit of a bigot. In the book he's a near angel. In reality he sounds like a scumbag. Could be that his experience changed him but I don't but that completely. A relatively uneventful few weeks in jail shouldn't make you think it's ok to beat your wife and kids. So ... fuck this guy.
But the book, without knowing current Zeitoun events first made for one of the better reads of my last few years.I'd recommend to anyone ignorant of the Zeitoun reality. Otherwise I'm not sure how I'de react to it if didn't buy Egger's glowing representation of him.
But then I read about Zeitoun's wife beating and Islamic radicalization and I can't help but wonder if the title character was whitewashed a bit to make for a more palatable protagonist. If he was an asshole muslim guy I probably wouldn't have been as outraged by his mistreatment. I'll admit I'm being a bit of a bigot. In the book he's a near angel. In reality he sounds like a scumbag. Could be that his experience changed him but I don't but that completely. A relatively uneventful few weeks in jail shouldn't make you think it's ok to beat your wife and kids. So ... fuck this guy.
But the book, without knowing current Zeitoun events first made for one of the better reads of my last few years.I'd recommend to anyone ignorant of the Zeitoun reality. Otherwise I'm not sure how I'de react to it if didn't buy Egger's glowing representation of him.