Zeitoun: Part 1: Monday August 29 Summary & Analysis

Zeitoun wakes up late the next morning to strong winds and rain and a few more leaks. There are fallen trees and a foot of water outside—not much worse than other hurricanes he can remember.

Meanwhile, Kathy goes to Wal-Mart with the kids to stock up on supplies. The place is nearly bought out, but she manages to snag a package of flashlights.

In New Orleans, the weather calms in the afternoon and Zeitoun leaves the house to find his canoe floating in the backyard. He paddles around an uprooted tree and through the silent street, seeing only a few neighbors who are wading through their yards and looking at the damage. He wonders if the flimsy aluminum canoe will withstand the shock of exposed power lines, and he turns around to return home.

That evening the water recedes entirely and the streets are dry, so Zeitoun calls Kathy to tell her to return home. She’s about to eat dinner with the kids, and knows there’s still no power in New Orleans, so she decides to wait until the next day. Kathy is slightly upset that her sisters put pork (which Muslims don’t eat) on the table, but she decides not to make an issue out of it this time.

In the evening Zeitoun’s second cousin Adnan, who manages Subway franchises in New Orleans, calls to ask if Zeitoun is still in the city. Zeitoun confides that it’s a little scary to be among the only ones left—something he never would tell Kathy. Adnan has gone to Baton Rouge with his pregnant wife, and he asks if Zeitoun knows of any mosques there. Adnan’s parents had managed to sleep in one the night before, but it’s now packed with people. Zeitoun tells Adnan to call Kathy, who will surely take them in. Zeitoun gets ready for bed, grateful to think of how little damage the house has suffered.