My review on Amazon
When I first picked this book, I didn't have any expectations. I knew it was going to be good (from everything I heard and read about it) but never thought it was going to be one of the best books I've ever read. It blew me away!
A nonfiction, The book chronicles the life of the Zeitouns--a middle class, Muslim family living in New Orleans--before, during and after Hurricane Katrina. Abdulrahman Zeitoun is a Syrian-American painting contractor who owns a profitable business and is well known in the city. His wife, Kathy, is a Baton Rouge native who converted to Islam a few years before they met. They have four children and have lived a pretty ordinary American life until the hurricane hit. What happened to that family will astound and appall you.
Heeding calls for evacuation, Kathy packs the kids and heads to Baton Rouge to stay with her family but Abdulrahman stays behind to look after their house and business; He decides to ride out the hurricane and the subsequent flood. Being the sturdy, resourceful man that he is, he comes out unscathed. What happens to him next is what breaks him in the end. Breaks him permanently.
I've never read a nonfiction book that's a page-turner, but this one sure is. It's written so well and reads so fast I had to slow down to savor the story. The book explores New Orleans after the hurricane, post 9/11 America, FEMA, local governments, Islam, and human relationships all through the eyes of Abdulrahman and Kathy.
I cannot stress enough how important this literary work is. Sure it's entertaining and makes for a great read, but it's more than that. It's a slice of history observed and told from a unique perspective in a lyrical almost ethereal prose. It's a must-read.
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