Dave Eggers

During class I began to form more of an opinion of Eggers as an author. He apparently has the ability to alter his style of writing as we saw when we compared two of his works. After our discussion about Eggers in class someone mentioned that they found a lot of criticism concerning his books. I grew curious and did some googling of my own. I personally was not a fan of the introduction that Eggers put, at least the short part I read, in the beginning of A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius. To me it basically discredited everything that was to follow. I don't think I would continue reading the novel after having read the introduction. Now knowing that Eggers stretched the truth so heavily in one of his previous works, I begin to question the facts in Zeitoun. Not to mention, I had not previously questioned the fact that Zeitoun's account were all from memory. It's not like he wrote a diary or kept records of his experiences. Therefore, I now find it hard to believe that all the dates and times in the book are completely accurate. While looking at criticism of Zeitoun from other sources I came across a review by New York Times. One part in particular stuck with me. The review read, "He does it without any writerly triple-lutzes or winks of post modern irony. There are no rants against President Bush, no cheap shots at the authorities who let this city drown." I completely disagree with this. I believe Eggers' voice was strongest when Zeitoun arrived at Camp Greyhound and when he was held captive there. I definitely believe he blames the Bush Administration and that his political views show through. There is an obvious attempt to hide his authorial voice but it is there nonetheless.