Friday, June 14, 2013

A Hologram for the King by Dave Eggers


Overall rating: ★★★★
Alan Clay is 54 years old. He is on the brink of bankruptcy and had to restart his career. Alan is a skilled salesman trained in the time of American manufacturing and door-to-door vacuum cleaner selling strategy. He has not been able to fully adjust to globalization, and to the fact that ‘Made in USA’ is an extinct species.
Alan’s most recent job sent him to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as part of a group to present to King Abdhullah a new technology that would allow the Saudis not only to videoconference but to have the other party “in the room” in the shape of a hologram.
Dave Eggers, the writer, does a great job of bringing Alan Clay to life. Even though I am not part of the same generation and life path as Alan, I immediately empathize with his predicaments. It was clear that Alan was going through a midlife crisis. He was lost; he could not clearly see his purpose and next steps.
I particularly liked the description of the everyday life, society, and culture in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. KSA is one of those places that is almost mystified by all the restrictions imposed by not only the king but a very rigorous interpretation of Islam. In the book I could clearly perceived the visitor’s constant fear of violating a rule by doing something completely normal like shaking the hand of someone of the opposite gender, and the adolescent behavior of people who by nature want to do all that is forbidden.
Hologram of the King was an entertaining reading. In some passages I would look up and reflect on the situation. The language is simple and clear for the most part, although I came across some words for the first time: stasis (the stagnation in the flow of any of the fluids of the body), asunder (into separate parts or pieces), and juggernaut (large, overpowering destructive force or object).
The end of the book was abrupt. I liked that some questions remained so the reader could imagine more than one possible ending. Mine is a happy one.
This book is available in paperback and Kindle
Originality: ★★★★
Beauty and use of language: ★★★

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