A Hologram for the King

By: Dave Eggers

Narrated by: Dion Graham

Length: 7 hrs and 52 mins

Publisher's summary

In a rising Saudi Arabian city, far from weary, recession-scarred America, a struggling businessman 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.

©2012 Dave Eggers (P)2012 Recorded Books

A man and his insecurities...

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

Probably not. Not much to keep you engaged.

If you’ve listened to books by Dave Eggers before, how does this one compare?

n/a

Which scene was your favorite?

Visit to the mountain village.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

It is and I won't.

Any additional comments?

Just couldn't get into it.

Depressing Story

Modern day version of "Death of a Salesman". Main character is his own worst enemy.

A reflective story written simply and elegantly

Eggers delivers once again. Not as funny as his previous works. This story shows an older, more mature side of Eggers, provoking great questions and ideas. A really lovely piece of work. The main character still occasionally haunts my thoughts.

Quite a bizarre tale of monotonous triviality.

What are we working for?
What are we achieving?
Is it all for naught?

Likely.

Relationships matter. Little else does.

Everything else is just a hologram. Here one minute, so real as if you can reach out and touch it. Just another of life's near misses the next minute.

Love Eggars. Not my favorite of his works though.

I think I get it, just wasn't that into it.

Grippingly mundane.

Disappointing and Plodding

I enjoyed Zeitoun and was anxious to have Eggars describe Saudi Arabia. However, I never developed any empathy for Alan or his team of three. His liaison with his doctor was contrived. The narrator's breathy voice had little variation. Who got the contract? - no surprise here either. But I didn't care.

Tortured

A slow and somewhat painful story of a depressed man who clings to the tiniest shred of hope to pull himself out of the mess he believes he has made of his life. He is tortured by his many perceived failures as a son, husband and father. He frequently ruminates on the banality of his existence. He pulls at any threads he believes might change his plight, but it continues to unravel...

Willie Loman goes to Saudi Arabia

Any additional comments?

Narrator Dion Graham makes this an enjoyable read, combined with the all-too-human failings of the main character Alan. He has loser and winner characteristics that make him likable. Combine that with the sheer unfamiliarity of Saudi Arabia, deftly portrayed through Alan's reactions and thoughts, and I got something out of the ordinary that I hadn't expected. I tend to listen to books on dog walks, and I can tell you the dog got a lot of exercise in the two days it took me to listen to this. So perhaps it can be said that "I couldn't put it down." I plan on reading more Dave Eggers books as a result.

Fabulous performance!

I am not sure if it wasn't for the great performance by Dion Graham whether the story can stand by itself. However, I got to say that I was yearning to go back to hear the remainder of the story between intervals of work :) My problem with the story is that it is depiction of what is wrong with current day America with lots of symbols (specially when Allen was with Youssef trying to hunt a wolf!) but overall it lacked a catharsis.

Read it. Depressing listen

Nothing happens to this depressed, pitiful main character. The book has a point about our current world, but listening to it is like watching proverbial paint dry. "Zeitoun" by the same author was a wonderful book to listen to, so when my friend recommended this book after reading it, I was eagerly looking forward to it. I could barely finish it.

worst narration ever

What disappointed you about A Hologram for the King?

No. No. A male narrator should not imitate female voices. I thought I was listening to Austin Powers coming up with new characters.

What could Dave Eggers have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

Written a much better story. What a waste. I have enjoyed his other books.

Would you be willing to try another one of Dion Graham’s performances?

God no.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from A Hologram for the King?

Too many to even get into. This story was off the rails pretty soon.

Any additional comments?

BAD BAD BAd