Zeitoun Quotes
"On moonless nights the men and boys of Jableh... they would approximate the moon."
"The fish, sardines, would begin gathering soon after, a slow mass of silver rising from below."
"You have to see it, Ahmad told his little brother. You've never seen anything like this."
"The beauty of the undulating silver orb below the white and gold lantern light."
"There was a delicate period, between six and six-thirty, when there was a chance, however remote, that they could steal another ten or fifteen minutes of sleep."
"Zeitoun’s English had its limits, so when bills had to be negotiated, hearing Kathy’s Louisiana drawl put clients at ease."
"This one, named Katrina, would be no different."
"He was firm, sure, but also just distracted enough to give them the room they needed."
"But those eyes, holding the light the way they did, had seized her."
"He could see a run-down building and have not only the vision to see what it might become, but also the practical knowledge of what it would cost and how long it would take."
"He was passing through the kitchen now, kissing the girls’ heads."
"The axe, in case they needed to chop through their attic to reach the roof."
"It was enough to burst a man’s heart wide open."
"She switched to another station, where they were issuing a warning that anyone who planned to ride out the storm in New Orleans should be prepared for a flood."
"A hundred thousand people on the road, all going north and east, fleeing winds and water."
"Living in a city like this was madness, fleeing it was madness, leaving her husband alone in a home in the path of a hurricane was madness."
"Growing up in Baton Rouge, it was a crowded house, full of clamor and extremes."
"She grew to be quick to fight, quick to argue."
"Even though Yuko was three years older, she and Kathy grew inseparable."
"Kathy was never sure why Kameko took her in, but she was careful not to question it."
"Kathy had no real inkling that they had made a great impression on Yuko, but Yuko was captivated."
"It was baffling to see her friend dabbling in this exotic faith."
"The fact that Islam acknowledged these books was revelatory for her."
"She liked Islam’s sense of personal responsibility, its bent toward social justice."
"The actual conversion was beautifully simple."
"She was less aggressive. She had always fought with her mother, but Islam taught her that 'heaven is at the feet of your mother,' and this reined her in."
"But the builder in him thought of the damage, how long it would take to rebuild. Years, maybe a decade."
"He felt invigorated by what he’d been able to do for the dogs, that he was there for those animals."
"He was certain he had been called to stay, that God knew he would be of service if he remained."
"It was the very nature of this small, silent craft that allowed them to hear the quietest cries. The canoe was good, the silence was crucial."
"He was not at all tired. He had never felt stronger."
"Anyone left to wade through this would become sick, he was sure."
"He expected it to pass over his house on its way elsewhere."
"He waved them off, trying to indicate that he was fine."
"Zeitoun tried to wave him off again, to no avail."
"He paddled across the street to feed the dogs."
"He expected that there might be people on Carrollton."
"Zeitoun was far enough away to observe without fear of them reaching him."
"Zeitoun quickly looked away. He did not want to invite confrontation."
"He walked into the tiled courtyard of the Masjid ar-Rahmah and looked around."
"He paddled back to Claiborne, passing a full case of bottled water bobbing in the middle of the waterway."
"The pastor and Beulah had waited out the storm but had now exhausted their supply of food and water."
"He paddled up Claiborne, the wind and rain fighting him."
"It was impossible to stay in one place, and making himself heard was difficult."
"We can't call nobody," the other soldier said.
"The remaining soldiers stared at Zeitoun, holding their M-16s."
"The pastor expressed confidence that help was still on its way."
"Again Zeitoun felt the presence of some divine hand."
"The mission took all of twenty minutes."
"Whatever he set his mind to, even a crackpot idea of touching some random rock miles in the distance, she knew he would not rest until he had done it."
"He could be exasperating in his sense of destiny."
"The shame was greater than any his family had ever known."
"This country was not unique. This country was fallible."
"In the grand scheme of the country’s blind, grasping fight against threats seen and unseen, there would be mistakes made. Innocents would be suspected. Innocents would be imprisoned."
"He had risked too much in the hopes that he might do something to match the deeds of his brother Mohammed."
"The system’s broken," he said. "There was no means to post bail. It would take some time before it could be rectified."
"We don’t have one right now," the woman said.
"It’s not private! It’s public!" Kathy screamed. "That’s the point! It’s a public court!"
"Isn’t $75,000 a lot for petty theft?" Zeitoun asked.
"No," Zeitoun said. "If he paid for his release, what would he do, after all?"
"Then check if we can use my property as bail," Zeitoun said.
"Everything happens for a reason," he tells them. "You do your duty, you do what’s right, and the rest is in God’s hands."
"So let us get up early and stay late, and, brick by brick and block by block, let us get that work done."