A Hologram for the King: A Novel

I was pleasantly surprised with this book after reading all of the negative reviews. Dave Eggers is an excellent writer but he is certainly capable of throwing out some duds. So that's what I was expecting here but I read it anyway, and it actually turned out to be a pretty darn good novel.The first half is excellent, reading like a Kafkaesque adventure into a bizarre foreign land with strange customs and inhabitants. Then our character settles in a bit and the second half is a more standard novel along the lines of personal exploration.Many of the characters are flat but writing characters has never been Eggers' strong suit. What is conveyed here is a mood, a sense of time and place. Specifically, an American who has found himself replaced by globalization and eventually machines. He has ventured out into the world expecting the olden days when the red carpet was rolled out because Americans were important and powerful. Instead he finds that we, as a nation, have been supplanted on the global scheme just as individuals all over the world are being supplanted by demand for cheaper labor and, eventually, no labor.Definitely worth a read. I guess if you've been to Saudi Arabia you shouldn't expect this to be a precise accounting of that nation. It isn't meant to be. Saudi Arabia is simply meant to supply a very different (and yet in some way, not so different) kind of place. So try to set aside what might irk you about the novel and allow yourself to become immersed.

For those that are familiar with Eggers, this is not his best work. It is still very much written in the style of his other work. I found myself really liking the novel in spurts, but the overall content leaves more to be desired.The basic premise is that Alan is in charge of setting up a presentation for King Abdullah. Setbacks, confusion, and questionable promises are events that occur throughout the novel. My concern while reading this was that there really was no motivating factor for Alan. It was simply situations he found himself in while waiting for the King to show up to see the presentation. Is this a problem? Sometimes yes, sometimes no. Some of the episodes Alan finds himself involved in are quite engrossing, but none of it really builds up to anything. Alan is just some dude in Saudi Arabia, waiting to present some new technology to the King, but the king hasn't showed up yet so Alan continues to go on random adventures. An interesting cast of characters and their interactions with the protagonist often created humorous situations where you really "liked" the characters. I feel as though the novel needed more of a direction, a premise that would build up to something.I will say that it is an easy read, and quite a page turner despite there being "no direction" The way Eggers describes environments is quite remarkable. Unlike Stephen King who will describe a room in three pages, Eggers does the same in three sentences. There is a great vivid quality to this novel, as is in his other novels. The dialogue is clever and witty, and often had me chucking. So why only three stars? I wanted to like this book, but I felt nothing when it was over. It is forgettable. Maybe Eggers had writers block and found a way to assemble lots of situations into one book. Perhaps these situations would have been better served in a collection of short stories or essays. It simply didn't feel cohesive or thought out.SPOILER: The inciting incident quickly sets up a question for the readers... when will the King finally show up? Well, he does. In the last chapter, and about three pages are dedicated to his presence. If the novel were not building up to this moment, then what was it leading towards? Possibly nothing. Possibly it was simply a tale of a middle aged man who "discovers himself" through a series of interactions and situations, and there is a bit of a payoff in that sense.Is the juice worth the squeeze? Nah.

I love Dave Eggers. I certainly love his work in "The Best American Nonrequired Reading" series. I loved "What is the What", and I enjoyed "The Circle" for its attempt to expose, if not discredit our business ethos in America (and abroad). I enjoy Dave Eggers' infusion of significant historical and social content. I love Dave Eggers as an activist and a leader of social reform. Most of all I love Dave Eggers because of his ability to write. Dare I say that twenty years from now, he may be heralded as one of (if not The) voice and conscience of his generation.That being stated, I think that "A Hologram for the King" from a purely artistic standpoint is his greatest accomplishment to date. "A Hologram" should be compared (favorably I might add) to Beckett's "Waiting for Godot" and to Arthur Miller's "Death of a Salesman". "A Hologram" is better written than either of them. There is virtually no plot, and yet like most of Eggers' other writing, I was unable to put "A Hologram" down.Alan Clay is the protagonist in "A Hologram", a character whom I found to be more interesting, and better developed than Willy Loman. Alan Clay is a middle-aged American businessman who shows up in Saudi Arabia to pitch a large IT deal to the king of the country. From the outset, Clay is hoping to change the terrible luck that has surrounded him for years . A divorcee in his mid 50s, Clay has many unresolved family issues, particularly involving his ex-wife, Clay is also a former Schwinn bicycle executive, where he was responsible for helping the company to outsource the manufacturing of its bikes to the Chinese, effectively putting Schwinn out of business. At present, Clay has been without work for a number of years and is teetering on the edge of personal bankruptcy. Alan has managed to convert a minor connection to Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah into a presentation to build a hologram for the king in hopes of landing an enormous contract to wire the new King Abdullah Economic City that is being built near the Saudi port city of Jeddah. Clay has somehow convinced the "guys from corporate" (think AT&T, Verizon, etc.) to partner with him for this mammoth Saudi contract. Upon their arrival in King Abdullah Economic City, Alan and his team are shown to a tent where they are to pass the hours and days waiting for the King to arrive. Alan Clay is the quintessential "snake-bit" salesman who is always one deal away from making it big. Despite Clay's desperate need to make this opportunity work, he is uncomfortable sitting with the gang from corporate under the tent in the sweltering Saudi heat, as they quietly bang away at their computers and check their other IT tools like their I-phone and I-pads. Clay looks and feels out of place- he is an outsider even for his own deal. Consequently, he retreats to his hotel room, where he spends the majority of his time alone, drinking away his sorrows and anxieties. Eggers is at his best while Clay worries incessantly about a lump that he finds on the back of his neck, conjuring up various ways that he might ultimately suffer horribly and then die from his lump. Clay meets a variety of people while endlessly waiting for the king to arrive. Clay meets a cab driver by the name of Yousef who spent a year in college in Alabama, and passes his time by checking the car's wiring for explosives each day, in fear that someone is trying to kill him.Spoiler alert: Toward the end of the novel, Clay abandons his "big" corporate opportunity with the King in order to go on a hiking expedition into the Arabian Mountains with Yousef with they are drawn into a wolf hunt."A Hologram for the King" is one of the best novels that I have read in the last several years, and I anxiously await everything and anything that Dave Eggers produces.

サウジ国王へITを売り込もうとする、米国ビジネスマンの物語。広大にして荒涼としたイメージしか頭に無かった私に、とても心地良い疑似体験をさせてくれました。主人公に親近感を覚えます。いかにもアメリカンなビジネス流儀。リサーチ不足で大くくり。顧客についてよく知らないし環境への適応性が低い。それでいて売り込む気概は強くて自信を有している。チーム間の連携はあるようで無し。明日のビジョンは誰も見ていない。彼らのそんな特質がゆったりと流れる時間の中で、平易な言葉で描き出されています。面白くて、哀しいストーリー。再読したくなります。

The book arrived on time, in good condition; as expected, no adverse surprises.

This is the story of Alan, a once brilliant salesman, now on the verge of defeat. Alan has lost everything in his life other than his love for his daughter. On a business trip in Saudi Arabia, Alan is trying to redeem himself by making one last great sale. The truth is that his decline in life has been coming for over twenty years, and he is not so sure of how he can turn it around.Alan's struggle is known to many American men still weeping for the death of manufacturing. Weeping for the times when we made things well. And for these men, trying to find a place in the information age becomes a greater challenge with every passing day.The business trip in Saudi drags on indefinitely. Alan waits to pitch to his magnificent hologram technology to the King. And this limbo could be a metaphor Alan's life that has become a purgatory in its own right.Eggers brings this book together very delicately. It is believable in its entirety, and maybe a cautionary tale for the way business is handled in the Middle East. I would recommend this book as an easy contemporary read, yet something that will make you reflect about life. Would make a great companion to read on a business trip.

A well written story that has been undermined by poor research. Too many inaccurate details one example being the currency of Arabia is not Dirhams.

Va perdiendo fuelle, me ha decepcionado, esperaba más, sobre todo por las reseñas tan positivas. A la historia le falta empaque.