I love Dave Eggers. What is the What is one of my most cherished tomes, one of those 'I'm-going-to-buy-a-copy-for-everyone-I-know-and-change-their-lives' type of book. My husband and I, in fact, were both so excited about his latest, A Hologram for the King that we independently decided to rush out and purchase it. For each other. As Christmas presents.
With my 2 copies in tow, I sat down on a recent Sunday and ended up finishing it the very same day.
A quick read, it centers on Alan Clay, an aging business consultant with a massive amount of debt and a string of unsuccessful business ventures behind him. He has one last ditch chance to turn his life around - a pitch to the King of Saudi Arabia to provide all of the IT work for the country's up-and-coming King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC). The project from the start is plagued with hold-ups and delays - Alan and his team of young upstarts are put in a tent with no air conditioning, they have no Wi-Fi for their presentation, and aren't given any food. They expect the King's arrival each day, only to be told at the last minute that he is out of town or simply not coming. With so much unexpected time on his hands, Alan listlessly drifts from place to place - drinking illegal moonshine in his hotel room, endlessly worrying about a new lump on his back, pondering his future, and repeatedly starting and stopping a letter to his college-aged daughter on life, parenthood and the choices we all make along the way. He often daydreams about his past, and we learn of how obsolete he has made himself, both personally and professionally. Alan's own failings are inextricably linked to a global shift in business to outsourcing, and Eggers' focuses' quite a bit on the lack of manufacturing in America, the resulting dominance of China, and their perceived unethical business practices.
The novel is getting mixed reviews for sure. A character study of a troubled everyman during a pivotal moment in his life, some find the tale too simple, with 'nothing happening'. And, it's true - there is very little action, with most of the narrative spent on Alan's musings and recollections. But I love that about Eggers - his sparse, straight-forward prose. His lack of resolution. His willingness to take on the American Dream and reveal the harsh realities that are undermining our old hopes. Yet, the story ends with some glimmer of promise in a way that is also very American - a willful blindness to what is happening, amnesia erasing the past, and a somehow optimistic look ahead to a bleak future.
I think that is what has stayed with me the most - maybe it's senseless, a fool's way of viewing the world. But to look towards an uncertain tomorrow and think everything will work out anyway - it's how I want to think. It's simple. And it's beautiful.
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