Zeitoun

De: Dave Eggers

Narrado por: Firdous Bamji

In his new nonfiction book Zeitoun, New York Times best-selling author Dave Eggers tells a Hurricane Katrina story unlike any written before.

When HurricaneKatrina struck New Orleans, Abdulrahman Zeitoun - a prosperous Syrian-American and father of four - chose to stay through the storm to protect his house and contracting business. In the eerie days after the storm, he traveled the flooded streets in a secondhand canoe, passing on supplies and rescuing those he could. A week later, on September 6, 2005, Zeitoun abruptly disappeared.

Eggers's riveting work, three years in the making, follows Zeitoun back to his childhood in Syria and around the world during his years as a sailor. The book also traces the story of Zeitoun's wife Kathy - a boisterous Southerner who converted to Islam - and their wonderful, funny, devoted family. When Zeitoun vanishes, Kathy is left to make sense of the surreal atmosphere (in New Orleans and the United States generally) in which what happened to Abdulrahman Zeitoun was possible.

©2009 Dave Eggers (P)2009 Recorded Books, LLC

Reseñas de la Crítica

"Imagine Charles Dickens, his sentimentality in check but his journalistic eyes wide open, roaming New Orleans after it was buried by Hurricane Katrina ... Eggers's tone is pitch-perfect - suspense blended with just enough information to stoke reader outrage and what is likely to be a typical response: How could this happen in America?" (Timothy Egan, The New York Times)

One of the best books I have listened to

This was one of my favorite books. I have given it to many people. We all have heard so much about Katrina, this story puts a face to the events and adds the additional element of telling a us more about being Muslim in America. A must read.

It Sounds So Accurate

I was not there, but takes of Katrina have filled our TV news programs. When I saw the storm approaching on TV, I was at the Red Cross giving blood. I told my companions New Orleans knows how to handle storms. I relive my comment often. I thought I was correct in my assumption. I remember black family’s labeled looters while a white family doing the same thing were call brave heroes. I saw New Orleans long before the storm. It’s a magical city. Harry Connick, Jr. gave his shirt to a naked black man he carried from an abandoned house.

Food for thought

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Well, after I read it, I definitely would have. But I have since read that the main character was arrested for beating his wife, and I wonder if the whole story was a sham.

What did you like best about this story?

Regardless of whether the main character was accurately portrayed, the story made me realize how vital our legal intrastructure is, and how we have to have emergency preparedness to make sure people's rights are respected during disasters.

Excellent and unexpected

Excellent historic with very little fiction. Full of surprises and a unique view of a well publicised disaster.

Good

It was a good, easy read. It had a few unnecessary stories, but good nevertheless.