2021: This is exactly the kind of narrative non-fiction that I love, but turns out that the "real" story is a painful one to reckon with.

Eggers is on fire with this story - it's well paced, you care about all of the characters, and the tension created after Zeitoun goes missing was palpable. I literally could not put the book down, it was so good. It dives into a ton of research regarding Hurricane Katrina, the abuses of power in its aftermath, and the media's irresponsible reporting. Fascinating, important, interesting stuff!

However: this book paints the Zeitoun family in a very good light, with an underdog immigration / victim story underscoring the Katrina tragedy. I was cheering for them, and was firmly on Team Kathy for the entire book. Upon finishing and doing some googling about what they are all up to now, I have since learned that Kathy & Zeitoun got divorced, Zeitoun was sentenced to prison after attacking Kathy with a tire iron, and he's since been deported, but because Syria is in shambles, they can't actually send him back until Syria sorts out a government!

-1 for how much of a bummer I felt after learning more about the Zeitoun family, and how it really caused me to second guess how much of this Eggers-written story was true.