This is a very American true story. In the years leading up to Hurricane Katrina, Abdulrahman and Kathy Zeitoun run a successful painting business in New Orleans. When the storm approaches, Kathy and the kids flee to higher ground while Abdulrahman stays in order to look after his properties and provide help to the desperate.
Trouble follows. Zeitoun, a Muslim, falls victim to Homeland Security’s war on terror and FEMA’s disastrous response to the hurricane. He becomes a real-life Joseph K., punished for the sake of punishment. Eggers tells his story with clear-eyed journalistic simplicity, which kind of makes sense. There’s no need for writerly flourishes when the facts themselves are hard to believe.