A Hologram for the King

By Dave Eggers

A National Book Award Finalist, a New York Times bestseller and one of the most highly-acclaimed books of the year, A Hologram for the King is a sprawling novel about the decline of American industry from one of the most important, socially-aware novelists of our time. 
 
In a rising Saudi Arabian city, far from weary, recession-scarred America, a struggling businessman named Alan Clay pursues a last-ditch attempt to stave off foreclosure, pay his daughter's college tuition, and finally do something great. In A Hologram for the King, Dave Eggers takes us around the world to show how one man fights to hold himself and his splintering family together in the face of the global economy's gale-force winds. This taut, richly layered, and elegiac novel is a powerful evocation of our contemporary moment--and a moving story of how we got here.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
• Release date: Jun 4, 2013
• ISBN: 9780345807601

Dave Eggers

Dave Eggers, a former professional stundman, is the editor of McSweeney's and the author of the New York Times bestseller A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius.

Reviews for A Hologram for the King

[jayne_charles_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I’m not sure what’s happened to Dave Eggers lately but I’m not complaining. The last two novels I’ve read by him have been astonishingly readable compared to his old stuff. There is a lot of light and space in this where previously there would have been a lot of wordy paragraphs. This was a fascinating look at Saudi Arabia - the idiosyncrasies of business practice there, the oppressive heat, the people who live there, the attitudes to alcohol, everything right down to the muslim and non-muslim lanes on the highway to Mecca. Either rigorously researched or magnificently made up. The chances of me ever going there to check which it is are vanishingly small. The trials and tribulations of the central character Alan drive the narrative along, but it is the depiction of his surroundings that will stay with me.

[lucaconti-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I liked the writing, not too much the plot. Anyway I read it in less than 24h

[piperup · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

Boring, boring, boring. seriously...it's boring.

[ijustgetbored · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I'm very grateful for this novel: the problems of middle-age white men with personal crises simply cannot be discussed enough. Bravo for charting new territory!

[tedwitham · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I was initially intrigued by the set up of this book, a sales pitch to be made to the King of Saudi Arabia by the aging representative of the firm offering IT to a new city to be built in the country, but eventually became bored by the waiting game: for me it was a bit like Waiting for Godot without the element of the absurd to redeem it.

[tpollack-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This book starts out promisingly, but at the climax and beyond, the plot falls apart and looses all intrigue.

[sggottlieb_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Not my usual read but I really enjoyed it.

[bonnie_bailey-1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Not worth the time. Dreary story about a loser.

[steve02476 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Really liked this book. It felt light and airy even though the topics were sad and lonely. I guess it seemed like a short story that was inflated into a novel. That doesn't sound good, but actually I loved it.

[paul_s-289480 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Everything is a bit unreal and I liked that. The historical commentary and analogies to America's decline are of less interest to me as I'm not American but I can see how they could make the character more sympathetic for Americans.

[henrykrinkle-1 · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

"Death of a Salesman" lite set in Saudi Arabia. I would have thrown this book across the room, but it was so excruciatingly dull I couldn't muster the effort.

[freelancer_frank · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This is a book about American anxiety for the future. It does capture something of the times, and it has its insights, but it is somewhat over weighted with leaden symbolism: the illusory and frightening (Hologram/Business/Sales) verses the real and safe (Walls, bicycles - stuff that can be made by hand). Too much time is given over to the rather mundane point that manufacturing supremacy in America has now gone overseas. The writing style is fraught with over-simplification - perhaps reflecting an underlying concern on the part of the author that writing itself is not really as real as a wall - or maybe just done to emphasize the moralizing tone.

[tmlibrary · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

Really Poor book...goes on and on getting no where fast. Set in Saudi Arabia; King Abdullah, KAEC city never takes off, women's rights in Saudi Arabia touched on a little

[nmele_4 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

this novel about a divorced, fifty-something fellow trying desperately to recover his equilibrium after financial failure was both depressing and--enlightening is not the correct term--educational to read. I was impressed by Eggers' depiction of the bewildered American in a different culture (Saudi Arabia here). He captured that disorientation for me, and also an elegiac tone that struck a chord but somehow seemed too pat and too planned.

[tabascofromgudreads · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I was lured by the cover and the title. I was hoping for a quick, fun, brilliant story that would give me some insight into Saudi Arabia and international business Big mistake. I found a French movie from the '70s instead. Seriously: a French Movie from the '70s, one of those where nothing happens, and actors are trying to convey despair in thousand of different ways, but all they can express is boredom.

But hey! If you have a sudden craving for a story about a weak, self-pitying, sad, aimless loser who just has to kill time for the ENTIRE book, and if you truly, truly would love the whole thing to be soaked in an aura of confusion, despair and depression, you're in for a fucking TREAT with "A hologram for the King"!!

[mawls · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I liked the main character and I enjoyed going on the journey with him through one moment of his life as a business man in Saudi Arabia.

[theageofsilt · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I think the novel did an excellent job of capturing the zeitgeist of contemporary times, the way "Bonfire of the Vanities" did with the 80's. For me, the story declined with the arrival of a doctor who, too clearly, foreshadows the fate of the protagonist's business venture. Yes, Godot, does arrive!

[idiotgirl · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Listened. Gives you a good sense of the contradictions and weirdness of Saudia Arabia through American eyes. Would recommend.

[klburnside · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

A really disappointing book. I probably would have given up on this book if I hadn't had faith that Dave Eggers would pull through in the end. There were a few bright moments, but I think the cover was the best part of the book.

[bibleblaster · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Loved this! "Waiting for Godot"--or maybe Kafka's "The Castle"--for those living through the Second Great Depression and the Decline and Fall of the American Empire. And Eggers would probably hate that description. He pulls it all off with an unassuming, small story about a divorced American consultant and worried father on a business trip to Saudi Arabia, where he waits for the King to see his company's presentation. Whenever the story felt like it might fall into cliche, Eggers opted for the real. Beautifully direct, psychologically acute, culturally true.

[annbury_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I gave up on this book before I finished it, because I found it too depressing and too hopeless to follow to the end. This illustrates the fact that when it comes to fiction, tastes differ -- the reviews I read interested me in the book, and plenty of people have reviewed it favorably in this forum. Part of the problem was that the central character, Alan Clay (the ghost of Willy Loman hovers round), seemed doomed from the beginning. The fact that things were never going to come together was abundantly clear from the get-go, as was the fact Alan was going to screw up. None of the other characters did much to liven things up (presumably if Alan can't really see them, neither can we), and the setting was shall we say static. So, as things plodded inexorably downhill, I abandoned ship. (Confession and spoiler alert: I did check out the end. Yep.

[zmagic69 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

For the life of me I have no idea what the point of this book was. I should have been warned when I saw on the cover that it was one of The New York Time Book Reviews 10 best books of the year, for me at least this is never a recommendation, for a book I will enjoy. I certainly did not enjoy this book of nothing. I really wish I had read some of the reviews on Goodreads first, I would never have bought the book. I had no idea the author was some 1960's author which explains a lot regarding the main characters disillusionment with the last 8 years. What is worse is that I never cared about Alan Clay the main character, and it seemed like neither did the Author.

[drfp_1 · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

What on earth has happened to Dave Eggers? It's a little hard to believe that the man who authored books like A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, How We Are Hungry and What is the What penned a work as weak as this.True, Zeitoun was written in a similarly simplistic style, which I forgave at the time as an attempt to replicate the title character's way with English as a second language. Unfortunately the same utterly basic prose is rolled out yet again here and it makes the novel an extremely blunt criticism of neo-liberal capitalism, globalization and the hollowing out of America's industrial base. These are heavy topics that have my sympathy and deserve attention, but Eggers' novel is so simplistic and obvious that the issues lack any subtlety and come across as rather tedious and boring when stretched over 300 plus pages.The less said about the novel's moping main character the better. Why Eggers thought a man who can't even write a letter to his daughter would make for an interesting lead character I have no idea. I quickly lost sympathy with Alan because he is so thoroughly useless and defeated. I have nothing against that sort of character - I love Turgenev's many superfluous men and their faults - but Alan is such a complete downer that I couldn't wait to end my time in his world.The ending is particularly lame too: overly simplistic and brief. I won't spoil what little there is to spoil, but it was just another unsatisfying element in a very poor novel.First Zeitoun and now this; I'm wondering if Eggers is worth my time any more. I'm certainly not rushing off to buy The Circle.

[mojomomma_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Alan is a down and out middle-aged American sales rep, making a pitch for high tech IT hologram equipment to the King of Saudi Arabia. If he can make this sale, the commission will take care of his overwhlming debts. The problem is that he is in Saudi Arabia in a city that has yet to built and making a pitch to a client that no one is sure will turn up. Alan is at once recognizable and yet frustratingly immature and out of control, and he plays the fool yet again.

[dtn620 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

UPDATE 10/10/12: NBA finalist?! Give me a break.
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-Hey, Dave Eggers has a new book out and it looks wonderful.

-What's it about?

-Who cares, it's a lovely book to hold.

And that's probably the most exceptional thing about the novel. McSweeney's has continued to impress me with the effort and care that they put into the packaging and physicalness of their books. Maybe the publishing industry should take note of what they're doing and start copying it.

Now for the story: A mid-fifties businessman struggling both in work and in life goes to Saudi Arabia for the chance to breath some life into his career and more importantly to improve his financial standing. But of course there's much more to it and the chance for his life to be turned around in a more meaningful way.

Ultimately the story was unsatisfying because it wraps up in the blink of an eye. Ending it in that indie-film sort of way to keep you wondering what happens next may have been the goal. But it doesn't pull it off very effectively and just left me sort of annoyed.

To be fair, the book was a lovely, easy read with the decent writing many expect from Eggers until page 309. It also offered an interesting glimpse into the kingdom of Saudi Arabia that I hadn't before seen.

So for these reasons, and the handsomeness of the book, my rating is somewhere between 2.5 and 3 stars.

[foodairbooks · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book moved me more than I expected. The protagonist was like an Internet Willy Loman. "Alan was not sure what he had was wisdom. What he had was a sense that few things mattered much."

[flydodofly · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Regardless of Eggers being one of my favourite authors and people in general, this is a really good book. What remains with me is the scorching sun above the pointless city allowing no shadows around the characters and their goings on, whilst they remain unknown and secretive and their actions meaningless at the same time. The book has the atmosphere of the movie Lost in Translation and that gave "my" Alan Bill Murray's face. Another pleasure, besides reading, was caused by the book's wonderful cover that looks a) important (a little like some kind of holy book) b) as if it has been carved out of woodA great idea that complements the book perfectly.

[jorgearanda_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

For all the ungainly prose, there is something of a parable about the current American condition in this book, represented by an aging, indebted IT salesman coming to terms with a world and a life he cannot control.

[chrisconway_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Eggers wants to say something about how we live today, especially our relationship to technology and how globalization alienates us. His protagonist is sympathetic but rather sad and passive. The novel is not very involving. I dog-eared two pages that had cool quotes. I give it three stars because I admire Eggers for writing about big, political subjects unlike most "literary" novelists who are widely known and popular.

[nivramkoorb · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I enjoyed the book and unlike many comments that I have read, his style was okay with me. The story was interesting and his side anecdotes were funny and interesting. Whether or not his picture of Saudi Arabia was true or not, it did reveal something about the place. When you read a book by an author you like and a person you respect, you give them the benefit of the doubt. At the end of the day it was an enjoyable book and a decent read. However, I did not see it as a ground breaking book full of insight etc. that many reviewers saw. I think that because people like Eggers and his contributions to youth literacy he gets preferable treatment on his reviews.