Zeitoun By Dave Eggers

Zeitoun by Dave Eggers is one of my favorite books so far. This book will be a part of history, the life of a family that lived through hurricane Katrina. What can happen (and has happened) to people when a hurricane hits. While reading this I suddenly felt the urge to go buy a canoe and keep lots of bottled water and food ready in case this ever happens to me.

Not only did this book keep you on your toes, you knew exactly how they felt, for example, when Kathy didn't know if her husband was alive or when Zeitoun sees animals left behind to survive by themselves.

Here is a quick summary of this book: Abdulrahman and Kathy Zeitoun, are a Muslim family and own a painting company in New Orleans. While the city (including Kathy and their four kids) evacuates because of hurricane Katrina, Abdulrahman stays home to take care of the many properties they own. Soon his house is flooded, the windows are broken and there are large holes in the ceiling. Zeitoun travels around the flooded city on his canoe, picking up helpless people in need and feeding animals left to face the hurricane by themselves. One day while calling his family, Zeitoun is arrested and sent to Camp Greyhound, a prison for looters and alleged terrorists. There he is treated like dirt, living in a small cage, with no phone calls, food he can't eat, and no medical aid.  When Kathy finds out where Zeitoun is, she stops at nothing to get him out. Soon life starts to get back to normal, fixing, repairing, and building houses, but after everything they've been through, will their lives really be the same?