Zeitoun; a few words

I just finished Dave Eggers' latest piece of nonfiction, Zeitoun. I thought the book deserved more than my standard Facebook-notification of recommendation.

The book gives an account of New Orleans residents Abdulrahman and Kathy Zeitoun as they experienced the events of Hurricane Katrina. The Zeitouns are devout Muslims, have four children, and are respected contractors in the New Orleans community.

Throughout the first third of the book, I quickly bonded to the Zeitoun family while also forming a connection to the city of New Orleans and the Syrian culture from which Zeitoun came. Written in a chronological, journalistic nature, the impending natural disaster creates a certain "impending doom" that is hard to ignore but once the brunt of the hurricane comes and goes, the crux of the book arrives and gave me a picture of post-hurricane New Orleans and all the mayhem that came with it. While most of the book's criticism of the country's reaction is told in a pure story format, the following quote nicely sums up much of the book's thesis:

This country was not unique. This country was fallible. Mistakes were being made. He was a mistake. In the grand scheme of the country's blind, grasping fight against threats seen and unseen, there would be mistakes made. Innocents would be suspected. Innocents would be imprisoned.

A quick note on the author, Dave Eggers. Although certain friends of mine (cough*Goodrich*cough) have a distaste for Eggers' popular book, A Heartbreaking Work Of Staggering Genius, calling Eggers a "narcissistic tool" who thinks that he is "...so special and no one gets it," I have enjoyed his writing. While writing some decent memoir-ish stuff, he has also written a good amount of social justice related books (most notably, What Is The What), with profits usually going directly towards charities involved with the subject at hand. He has also started a writing and tutoring center in his hometown of San Francisco and been involved in similar operations around the country. Basically, it's nice to see a talented, successful author use his craft to highlight more substantive issues (read: not narcissistic).

Spring Intake

What follows are the movies, television shows, and books I've been consuming this spring, hopefully to the betterment of my overall self. I watched a lot more television this spring than I have at any other time. I once heard it described that the 'television show is to the movie' as the 'novel is to the short story.' I've found this to be true and have learned to enjoy the meta-narratives present in television shows such as Dexter, The Sopranos, and Mad Men. As far as literal literature goes, I finished a couple of elongated classics (The Brothers Karamazov & Augustine's Confessions) while also experiencing some fresh, current voices as well (Dave Eggers, Chuck Paluhniuk, Reif Larsen). It's been a good time as far as media goes and I look forward to enjoying a few more months of peace before the fury of grad school hits this fall.

movies/television mad men [season 3], dexter [season 4], food, inc., sugar, youth in revolt, the sopranos [season 1], moon, the hurt locker, star trek, avatar, the sopranos [season 2], scrubs [season 1], an education, the sopranos [season 3], crazy heart, paranormal activity, scrubs [season 2], the road, scrubs [season 3], a serious man, scrubs [season 4], gomorrah, pushing daisies [season 1], alice in wonderland, scrubs [season 5], the informant, sorority row, the blind side, precious, how to train your dragon, doctor zhivago, scrubs [season 6], scrubs [season 7], the brothers bloom, in the loop, pushing daisies [season 2], the sopranos [season 4], scrubs [season 8], community [season 1], the office [season 6], 30 rock [season 4], sherlock holmes, bored to death [season 1], lost [season 6], 24 [season 8]

books pilgrim at tinker creek .. annie dillard, the selected works of t.s. spivet .. reif larsen, not for sale .. david batstone, the brothers karamazov .. fyodor dostoevsky, suite francais .. irene nemirovsky, confessions .. st. augustine, the moon is down .. john steinbeck, choke .. chuck paluhniuk, survivor .. chuck paluhniuk, the wild things .. dave eggers

Wait one more time, what again, is the what?

In writing, I paid no heed as to whether or not you, the reader, care if I give away "important details" of the novel. So if you are a stickler on not knowing anything important concerning plot points, stop reading when I insert the [SPOILER ALERT]. Also, I recognize that this book came out in 2006. I am in no way, punctual in my review. The story is still important.

I recently finished Dave Eggers’ book, What is the What. The novel is based on Valentino Achak Deng’s life, starting in Sudan, then Ethiopia, then Kenya, then the U.S. Although it is considered fiction, many of the events occurred in Achak’s life, or were at least events typical of boys in Achak’s situation. Achak is considered one of the “Lost Boys,” those young boys (5-12 years old –ish) who walked for hundreds of miles from Southern Sudan, East to Ethiopia, amidst the brutal civil war tearing the country apart (and remember; this is pre-Darfur crisis).

The novel takes on a first person narrative from Achak’s point of view. With this, Eggers is able to use his deep understanding of how the mind works to provide, often, candid thoughts from Achak as he discovers unfathomable violence, poverty, and, at some points, opportunity. In his memoir, A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius(the one other Eggers book I’ve read), a similar understanding of the mind’s blunt, yet honest, way of operating is on display, albeit in a much different context. This book also has my recommendation (despite Goodrich’s utter distaste for this offering).

The narrative is told from Achak’s telling in a current day setting. Switching back and forth from life in the U.S. and life in Africa, similarities arise between the two worlds. Addressing the ”What” of What is the What, [SPOILER ALERT] it more or less pertains to a tribal story in which, given the option, the Sudanese chose the more immediate gift of cattle, over the “What”: a higher place in this world. What follows, in Achak’s perspective, is that the Sudanese must then live their lives without the “What.”

Achak’s life, somewhat of an archetype for all Sudanese people, is pestered with abandonment, a lack of a home, and, at the core of the matter, a lack of identity. And perhaps even deeper than this feeling is that he feels a lack of existence. While there are moments where he is recognized (and humanized – times such as when he receives his passport or when he receives help from those in the U.S.), his status in the U.S. does not differ greatly from his life in Sudan. Wherever he ends up, he falls on the lowest rung of castes. Yet he, and those with him, persevere and tell their story. I think he comes to the conclusion that he does exist, despite what he has experienced in his life.

The book ends with Achak addressing the reader: “All the while I will know that you are there. How can I pretend that you do not exist? It would be almost as impossible as you pretending that I do not exist.”