Overview Post

     To what degree do I question Eggers' credibility? How much is true and how much is left out? In the book, Zeitoun is embodied as a selfless hero who stays behind in New Orleans and helps other people. While helping others, he is wrongfully accused of looting and gets put in jail. While he's in jail he suffers, but he never gives up and survives through determination. To what degree can we take Eggers word and believe the entire story? Is he innocent? Was he actually mistreated and abused in jail or was it all made up to create a better story?

     After reading the L.A news article about Zeitoun beating his wife, it really makes you wonder how a selfless hero like Zeitoun could do such a thing. What did Eggers leave out or make up about Zeitoun's values? So then what is actually true about Zeitouns story? How can we believe the story about this "hero" after we find out about Zeitoun's actions outside the book. Can the reader still believe his writing? Did Eggers just make details up for a more interesting story and his own financial gain?

Who is Zeitoun?

Which face do we see in the book?

Question Post

     Dave Eggers gives a unique perspective on Hurricane Katrina and tells the story of Zeitoun's family, but is it all non fiction? Zeitoun's journey in the aftermath of the storm is incredible for many reasons, but is the reader forced to believe so? Eggers seamlessly weaves both recorded events and Zeitoun's story into one book, but for what purpose? After finishing the book it left me wondering and thinking about these questions, but throughout the book one question came to my mind constantly. What is Eggers trying to achieve with Zeitoun and can we believe his writing? As an author, he's received criticism for his writing choices and with recent news surrounding Zeitoun, some people are beginning to question the book. So is he credible? 

     The book describes the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, but also the complications of Muslim beliefs along other various themes. These different ideas are brought together simultaneously and told as one story, but why? Personally I think Eggers' main goal with the book was to give a new perspective on Hurricane Katrina that was never seen before, and he used Zeitoun to help drive the story. Although Zeitoun seems to be the focus for the majority of the book, he is using these extra details to play with emotions of the reader. Even with constant news coverage of the flooding in New Orleans, the hurricane had little effect on the average American. But with his writing, he was able to portray what really happened using Zeitoun. Like Tim O'Brien said in "The Things We Carry", sometimes he had to tell the story truth to get at the real truth. So I wonder, did Eggers exaggerate to get his point across? Although he used real information on the events of hurricane Katrina, the book is not just about the hurricane. Other themes of suffering, faith and determination are key in Zeitoun's journey and they are used to capture the reader. But was in necessary to include more?


     With more recent news about Zeitoun and his issues with domestic abuse, it is becoming more and more difficult to believe the writing. Eggers portrays Zeitoun as a remarkable human being, who stands above all the evil in this world, but what if he made some details up? He interviewed the Zeitoun family to get the backstory, but what did he fill the gaps in with? Truth or exaggerations? As a group we believe that Eggers is not credible and some of the events in the book are fiction. Although, he did provide a new perspective on hurricane Katrina, he was not completely truthful in his descriptions of Zeitoun. After the book's release Zeitoun became a hero, but apparently for the wrong reasons. Eggers was successful in providing a new perspective on Hurricane Katrina, but only by bending the truth.

Review Post

After looking at multiple reviews of the book, I found many different opinions and criticisms. One reviewer gave this book one star. In his review he explains how Eggers constantly hints at the idea of racism towards Middle Eastern people and it was the reason that Zeitoun was arrested. However there was never any proof of this claim stated within the novel. He blames his abuse on soldiers who have just returned from Iraq, but not one returning soldier was involved with his arrest. He also blames the government for sending a report warning of terrorist activity, but how can we be sure this really happened. Where is the evidence for these claims? The same people who were to blame for his arrest were the ones who called his wife, and the people who cleared his name. Eggers gives a biased description because of Zeitoun's story so we can't be sure what really happened. This definitely changes my view on the novel because before I blindly accepted that he was arrested due to him being Muslim without truly thinking about it.

The next review I read was from a person who gave the book 5 stars. Now they give good reason why they liked the book. It is well written, with great descriptions. They even state "but still makes you feel as if you are there, canoeing along in the streets of New Orleans" (K. Elzers). The book is very well written but other than the fact that it is a good book, deserves to be a best seller, tells the truth about the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, and brings up light of some of the issues we face in America. However it does not truly go into depth about the novel and why it was so good besides a few facts.

The final review was one that I read in the New York Times. I did not find this review much more than a summary of the book rather than a review of what the reviewer thought Zeitoun was like. The reviewer talked about the book a little bit, however not one sided as the other reviewers had been. He is almost completely biased, but does say some positive words about Zeitoun. Overall though I find the amazon reviews much more interesting, and compelling than this review. They bring up issues that most newspapers would not dare, and they made me think about a lot of things about the book that I would not usually.