Zeitoun

There's not much to write about this book.

1. You need to read it.
2. It will make you angry, sad, and disappointed.
3. Now's the time to read it.

My lasting memory of reading What Is The What (Eggers' last book) is the call-to-arms, responsibility-mirror feeling of the ending. It felt like a slap in the face.

Zeitoun has a similar visceral effect. More so. It's about America and so, of course, whether this is right or wrong, it's closer to home. It is home.

Quickly: Zeitoun is a Syrian-born American business owner who lives in New Orleans and stays behind during and after Hurricane Katrina to tend to his family's home and properties. In the days after the storm, he ends up rowing around town helping stranded citizens, using an old metal canoe he bought years before at a garage sale. One day, Zeitoun is arrested at gunpoint and taken away, at which point he drops out of contact for weeks.

And here is where you should go ahead and get out the paper bag so you don't hyperventilate from outrage.

You might be sick of feeling outraged these days. Fortunately, there's a lot more to Zeitoun than that. It's an American story, for better and worse. And Eggers continues to put out projects that make me excited about writing and reading. So there's that.

This book is not depressing - it's very stimulating. I was yelling out loud, etc.

I highly recommend it.

Weird review. But sincere.