A few weeks ago, one of my chat group friends told me about this book she had read, called Zeitoun, which she thought gave a unique perspective of Hurricane Katrina and the life of one of its survivors. A few days later when it showed up on the shortlist of my book club, I was totally stoked. But, as luck would have it, it didn't get voted to be the book of the month. Nevertheless, I bought it and read it and I am glad I did.
The book tells the story of Zeitoun, a Syrian immigrant living in New Orleans. The book begins with Zeitoun's life as a painting contractor, weaving us through his life with his family in Nola as well as the story of his past life in Syria. When Hurricane Katrina hits New Orleans, Zeitoun decides to stay behind while his family evacuates. Finding himself well equipped and capable in the aftermath of the failed levees, Zeitoun canoes around town providing help where possible. When he is suddenly arrested under suspicion of being a terrorist, he is forced into the middle of mismanaged FEMA nightmare.
As I understand it, the book is a retelling of the story the way Zeitoun remembered it, and the author did not corroborate all facts. This didn't
take away from the story for me. This book made for a very good read. It would have been a wonderful read if they had edited out some of his childhood memory lane parts - some history sheds light on people, but too much history just takes away from the story. The description of the police action was a side of the chaos that we didn't get to see quite the same way when watching the news from many miles away. The book left me wishing we had picked this for our monthly read instead of the sub-par short stories we ended up with.
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