Not Quite Another Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius

As soon as the word 'Katrina' popped up in this excerpt from 'Zeitoun' I had my suspicions that this was gonna be another in the long line of books that have been written to highlight "One family's personal tragedy in the wake of a cataclysmic event." I just assumed that Zeitoun was going to drown and leave his family behind. I mean, all the hallmarks of a best-selling tragedy were there:

• A foreigner who's made good in America.
  
• A family of four young kids
  
• A beautiful wife whom he was able to marry, despite any potential racial or religious boundaries.
  
• Promoted by the New York Times.
  

All signs point to: Cha-Ching. Here comes another book whose utter perfection will be proclaimed by bleeding-hearts in sushi bars and tea houses across the globe. And yeah, okay, considering Dave Eggers has proven himself a decent author, it probably would've been a good read.

But with a bit of further research, the cynic in me was silenced. Turns out Zeitoun is alive and well. There goes the heartbreak factor. I guess this tale's gonna be one of inspiration instead. Inspirational, just like The Shawshank Redemption (by which I mean it inspires people to never give up hope, as opposed to inspiring them to break out of jail.)

Again, I'm sure it's a very good read. Maybe not a work of staggering genius, but nonetheless a decent collection of pages and ink. But the thought occurs that in the realm of 'creative non-fiction,' a realm to which Zeitoun and In Cold Blood both belong, commodities like tragedy and inspiration and heartache and hope are valuable. Extremely valuable, providing their manifestation isn't heavy-handed on the author's part.

So I guess my mission is clear: Find a tragedy to exploit and rake in some cash.

Oh. Turns out that Eggers won't be receiving any profits from this book. All of those are going to the Zeitoun foundation, which aids in the rebuilding of New Orleans. Once again the cynic in me has been silenced by this book.

Oh well, sometimes it's nice to be wrong.