A Hologram for the King is a 2012 American novel written by Dave Eggers. In October 2012, the novel was announced as a finalist for the National Book Award.[2]
The novel tells the story of a washed-up, desperate American salesman, Alan Clay, who travels to Saudi Arabia to secure the IT contract from the royal government for the King Abdullah Economic City, a massive new complex being built in the middle of the desert.
Style
Michiko Kakutani describes the novel as having a "Hemingwayesque voice" with some of the main characters' adventures taking on a "Kafkaesque flavor".[3] The novel also makes intentional analogies to Waiting for Godot.[3]
Reception
On The Omnivore, based on British press reviews, the book received an "omniscore" of 4.0 out of 5.[4][5] On Book Marks, based on nine critic reviews: four "rave" and five "positive".[6] On the September/October 2012 issue of Bookmarks, the book received 4 out of 5 stars with the critical summary saying, "Hailed as "an extraordinary work of timely and provocative themes" (San Francisco Chronicle), A Hologram for the King will surely stand out as one of Eggers's best".[7]Culture Critic gave it an aggregated score of 85 percent from press reviews.[8]
The New York Times review of the novel by Michiko Kakutani, was generally positive, noting "he has achieved something that is more modest and equally satisfying: the writing of a comic but deeply affecting tale about one man’s travails that also provides a bright, digital snapshot of our times."[3]San Francisco Chronicle reviewer Carmela Ciuraru described the novel as "an extraordinary work of timely and provocative themes, including the decline of American manufacturing, the sufferings of the middle class and the collapse of the global economy."[9]
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