From Zeba Iqbal:
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Hello All –
Have you heard about a fantastic new book by Pulitzer nominated author Dave Eggers? The book, Zeitoun, called an ‘instant American classic’, is about a Muslim American man, Abdalrahman Zeitoun and his family in New Orleans. Zeitoun stays behind to help neighbors after Hurricane Katrina only to be detained and suspected as “Taliban” and “Al Qaeda.
Timothy Egan writes in his upcoming New York Times Book Review (on August 16, 2009):
“Imagine Charles Dickens, his sentimentality in check but his journalistic eyes wide open, roaming New Orleans after it was buried by Hurricane Katrina…. Eggers’s tone is pitch-perfect—suspense blended with just enough information to stoke reader outrage and what is likely to be a typical response: How could this happen in America?… It’s the stuff of great narrative nonfiction…. Fifty years from now, when people want to know what happened to this once-great city during a shameful episode of our history, they will still be talking about a family named Zeitoun.”
Click here for more reviews. Please also read several recent reviews and interviews by Muslim Americans on Zeitoun.
All Dave Eggers’ proceeds from the book go to the Zeitoun Foundation, a non-profit founded in 2009 to aid in the re-building of New Orleans. Two of the recipients of funding from the Zeitoun Foundation are Islamic Relief and the Muslim American Society.
As Muslim Americans I hope that we can help the Zeitouns, Dave Eggers and McSweeney’s by promoting the book within the Muslim American community and through our networks.
Ramadan is coming and it is a great gift for Eid or even for birthdays.
You can buy the hardcopy version here for $18 (25% off the original price of $24).
If you would like to buy at least 10 books – there is a special discounted rate of $12 (50% off the original price). To avail of the rate or to find out more contact McSweeney’s at custservice@mcsweeneys.net, and mention that Zeba Iqbal and Wajahat Ali referred you.