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.
