Mar
11

Interview with Dave Eggers

By Mike Lawson// News // No Comments

The seldom interviewed author and publisher Dave Eggers is out promoting his newest novel Zeitoun, and recently sat down with The Guardian.

Zeitoun is being called “narrative non-fiction” because it’s a true story written by a novelist…is this a new genre, or am I out of touch? The book is about the relief operation following hurricane Katrina in New Orleans in 2005 and the “war on terror.”

From The Guardian interview:

“It is showing, not telling,” he says. “I just went back to all the things I learned in journalism school. There have been so many polemics about the war on terror, but [individual] stories illustrate these things much better. I’m interested in the human impact of the giant foot of misplaced government. After all, we encounter it every day. Every day. Right now, for instance, I’m trying to help a friend get his deportation delayed.”

The story is about what happened to a Arab-American man (Abdulrahman Zeitoun) in the days after hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans where Zeitoun lived.

Hardcover: 342 pages
Publisher: McSweeney’s; First Edition, First Printing edition (July 15, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1934781630
Amazon Link

About The Author

Mike Lawson hates writing in the third-person. He has some journalism experience, but spends all of his days now working for a youth-serving non-profit in Tempe, Arizona. He is a Type 1, insulin-dependent diabetic and he likes watching ice-skaters fall. Once upon a time he said that his favorite author was Joan Didion, but he's slowly realizing that he doesn't have a favorite author and just likes all books. Follow Mike on Twitter: @mrmikelawson

Mike Lawson has written 30 articles on iEATbooks.