Zeitoun has taken an unexpected
shift. In the beginning of the story,
the family was all together, and the storm hadn’t arrived. Yet, they were all quite scared and vigilant. Now, the storm has come, and its worse than
they expected, yet, the panic has passed and they have all reacted perfectly in
the midst of the crisis.
As
the first hundred pages of the book were dedicated more to upping the ante,
this new portion has been rather disappointing.
Eggers spoke of the Muslim tension, the lack of financial stability in
the family, the improperly positioned levees, and the mandatory
evacuation. With this kind of build-up,
I was expecting an apocalyptic showdown between Zeitoun and Katrina. A sort of cheesy, Hollywood take on the agony
and braveness of an immigrant soul.
Instead, I’ve gotten a straight up recounting of events. Don’t get my wrong, Zeitoun is a hero and W’s
government is exposed as a third world poorly arranged mess. However, I’m surprised. What is to become of the family, of their
house?
I
realize now that I’m the idiot. I
expected Eggers to be just as arrogant as he was in his memoir. I expected him to blow everything out of
proportion. I was wrong. The only way that the book was going to truly
have an impact, to move the people that know little about Katrina and scare the
people that endured it, was if it was true to the facts. I’ve changed my perception of what is to
come, and I’ve changed my mindset as well.
Take it away, Eggers, show me how Zeitoun represents everything that’s
right in the city of New Orleans.
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