Zeitoun by Dave Eggers

Zeitoun is the type of book that you want to throw across the room after you've finished, and I mean that as a compliment. The story, about a Syrian-American who stays in New Orleans during and after Hurricane Katrina, is a powerful indictment of our federal government. It makes the reader furious.

My love of Eggers goes back a good 10 years, but I'll be the first to admit that his style of writing can be, well, not everyone's cup of tea. But what's amazing in Zeitoun is that Eggers does what great writers do, which is show, not tell. There are vivid descriptions, but no tangents on the Bush administration's incompetence following Katrina.

The book is also structured well. Eggers excels in painting a picture of the Zeitoun's life and business in New Orleans in late August 2005, and touches on his background and family members throughout the story. Even though you know the storm is coming, the twists and turns in the lives of this family make Zeitoun hard to put down.

I'm hopeful that teachers will use Zeitoun in the classroom, as it offers great discussion points on the topics of government, immigration, natural disasters and human rights. Everyone else should read it just because it's excellent.