Last month (May 2011), Cheyenne hosted our eighth book club meeting to discuss Zeitoun 
by Dave Eggers. As my previous post indicated, I read the book in two nights and really loved it. But, I love almost everything Dave Eggers does, so that is no surprise. To remind you, this book is written like a novel but is actually the true story of the Zeitoun family from New Orleans before, during, and after Katrina. It is gripping, intense, and magnificently (I think anyway) shows the many different sides of people's responses to disaster. No spoiler alerts here-- though people may feel like they know about what happened in the aftermath of Katrina, what happens to the Zeitoun family is shocking, and best left as a surprise!The meeting was in College Green Park, and we had a picnic! Pressed sandwiches, strawberry lemonade, spinach salad, and gooey brownies (Matt's first ever attempt at baking-- they were great!) All eight of us at the meeting were cozy and cute under the little gazebo when suddenly the wind picked up, a dark cloud loomed ahead, and all of the families and kids in the part started fleeing. We all started to laugh because it seemed so eerily similar to the book. Like Zeitoun, the main character, we decided to stay in our gazebo to ride out the storm. This change in the weather was the perfect segue to a great discussion of the book.
As usual, the group was split in their opinion of the book. For example, while I thought the book was the least political Katrina story I've read, others thought it was too political. The varying opinions of the Eat, Drink, and Be Literarians never cease to surprise me, but also impress me. It is great to examine a piece of literature from so many different points of view. One thing we could all agree on is that the Zeitoun family has a story that should be told.
If you have read the book already, or perhaps don't mind a spoiler, see a video interview with Abdulrahman and Kathy Zeitoun here.
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