Zeitoun
Narrator: Zeitoun is told through the perspective of a third-person narrator who details events with knowledge of the future and some characters' inner thoughts.
Abdulrahman Zeitoun: Zeitoun is an immigrant from Syria who experiences trauma witnessing the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and being unlawfully imprisoned because of his race and religion in the "anarchy" that swept the city after the levees burst and the city flooded.
Kathy Zeitoun: Kathy is Zeitoun's strong-willed American wife who leaves New Orleans with their four children two days before Katrina hit the city. Kathy and Zeitoun have a very solid and mutually respectful relationship throughout the book, and much of her section of the book revolves around her resistance to accepting that Zeitoun may have died in Hurricane Katrina.
Ahmad: Ahmad is Zeitoun's brother from Spain who tracks Hurricane Katrina and strongly urges his brother and his family to leave New Orleans. After the storm, Ahmad does everything he can to stay in contact with Zeitoun and Kathy. He aids Kathy by trying to locate Zeitoun after he goes missing a few days after the storm.
Nasser: Nasser is Zeitoun's friend, who is also Syrian. The two paddle around New Orleans after the city has flooded, and both are racially profiled as being a terrorist and falsely arrested for being looters. Naser has $10,000 cash on his person when the flood hits because he didn't want to lose his life savings. All of his money is confiscated when he is arrested, and he never gets his life savings back.
Ronnie: Ronnie is a man that Zeitoun encounters when Ronnie uses a working phone in one of Zeitoun's properties. He is arrested with Zeitoun and Nasser for looting.
Todd: Todd is another man who is arrested with Zeitoun for looting. Todd knew Zeitoun before the storm because he rented an apartment from Zeitoun.
Yuko: Yuko is Kathy's best friend from childhood through adulthood. She encouraged Kathy to convert to Islam when they were young adults. Kathy takes her family to stay with Yuko and her husband in Arizona after they realize that the storm's affects will take weeks to clean up.
Abdulrahman Zeitoun: Zeitoun is an immigrant from Syria who experiences trauma witnessing the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and being unlawfully imprisoned because of his race and religion in the "anarchy" that swept the city after the levees burst and the city flooded.
Kathy Zeitoun: Kathy is Zeitoun's strong-willed American wife who leaves New Orleans with their four children two days before Katrina hit the city. Kathy and Zeitoun have a very solid and mutually respectful relationship throughout the book, and much of her section of the book revolves around her resistance to accepting that Zeitoun may have died in Hurricane Katrina.
Ahmad: Ahmad is Zeitoun's brother from Spain who tracks Hurricane Katrina and strongly urges his brother and his family to leave New Orleans. After the storm, Ahmad does everything he can to stay in contact with Zeitoun and Kathy. He aids Kathy by trying to locate Zeitoun after he goes missing a few days after the storm.
Nasser: Nasser is Zeitoun's friend, who is also Syrian. The two paddle around New Orleans after the city has flooded, and both are racially profiled as being a terrorist and falsely arrested for being looters. Naser has $10,000 cash on his person when the flood hits because he didn't want to lose his life savings. All of his money is confiscated when he is arrested, and he never gets his life savings back.
Ronnie: Ronnie is a man that Zeitoun encounters when Ronnie uses a working phone in one of Zeitoun's properties. He is arrested with Zeitoun and Nasser for looting.
Todd: Todd is another man who is arrested with Zeitoun for looting. Todd knew Zeitoun before the storm because he rented an apartment from Zeitoun.
Yuko: Yuko is Kathy's best friend from childhood through adulthood. She encouraged Kathy to convert to Islam when they were young adults. Kathy takes her family to stay with Yuko and her husband in Arizona after they realize that the storm's affects will take weeks to clean up.