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

Disappointing Eggers

I have truly loved Dave Eggars nonfiction books. They are works of human beauty.

Unfortunately his books of fiction don't seem to Carry the same humanity. The story of Hologram lacks direction, and there are no people you could attach yourself and say "I would like to be, or to know this person". Unlike his earlier books, there is no one you can just identify with and really care about. It was a sad journey getting to the end.

Not Dave's best

Would you listen to A Hologram for the King again? Why?

Probably. It was somewhat informative and entertaining.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

The Saudi Arabian setting was interesting. The main character...I can't even remember his name, was not.

Which scene was your favorite?

Cannot remember a particular one to choose. I listened to it a few weeks ago.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No.

Any additional comments?

I have really enjoyed some of Dave Eggers other novels but this one fell short of my expectations.

Terrible

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

Billed as an international intrigue;but there was minimal intrigue - Very Boring

What was most disappointing about Dave Eggers’s story?

Not even suspenseful it was like ho hum

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Dion Graham?

I don't understand this question

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

I would cut the scenes where they sit around waiting for something to happen that never does

Huge disappointment

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

It could have had a story, plot and other essentials of writing fiction

What was most disappointing about Dave Eggers’s story?

Overall, a terrible write

How did the narrator detract from the book?

Too histrionic about nothing

What character would you cut from A Hologram for the King?

Basically there were only 2 characters

Any additional comments?

It won the rating on my huge list to "absolute bottom".
Save your money

Boring

I'm half way through, 24 chapters and listening at 1.5x speed and I'm still struggling to get through it. It's just not that interesting. Fitting that it takes place in a hot, dry, tedious desert. I feel just as bored as the narrator, waiting for something, anything interesting to happen. It doesn't.

Willie Loman for the 21st Century

Where does A Hologram for the King rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This book holds no surprises; you can see exactly where the characters are going. You cringe for the principal character as he mismanages every situation, but had he been brilliant, the mission would still have failed. Its outcome foreordained. It is an advance look at our own self portrait. The willful tossing aside of the shredded social contract(s) that used to cushiion our lives, and the hinted at future that awaits us behind the next "free trade act".

Which scene was your favorite?

The three Chinese vans parked outside the Vendors tent. Precious. Arrogance vs preparation.

If you could take any character from A Hologram for the King out to dinner, who would it be and why?

The Saudi doctor. She was the only person in the book that displayed any humanity. Also, very sexy.

The price paid for capitalism

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes. The effects of capitalism across 3 generations is a great story.

What did you like best about this story?

Many people can relate to dreams falling short and temptations that should be avoided.

What about Dion Graham’s performance did you like?

His presentation is honest and earnest, strait forward. I like the way he represents men and women in his auditory style.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes!

Any additional comments?

I kept thinking back to my Dad, his career in metallurgy, and the way he was against America's economy being service based versus manufacturing based.

Dave Egg delivers

A Hologram for the King is a solid book, maybe Dave Egger’s best piece of pure fiction. The plot is a bit understated, a guy goes to the Middle East to prepare a presentation for a king that doesn’t seem to ever want to show up. From there he meanders around the Middle East, meeting people and trying to find himself. It’s a soul searching novel about disconnection and a loss of self. It’s not a depressing book but it portrays a character who’s confused and vulnerable. Good stuff!

A Ballad for the Twilight of the American Empire

Would you listen to A Hologram for the King again? Why?

This is one of the best audiobooks I have listened to in a long time. Dion Graham, the narrator, manages a tone that is paradoxically grim yet with bouts of hope and, even more surprising, romance. He is the main character. He is not just reading his sad ballad.

What did you like best about this story?

The story was taut, episodic with fascinating and unexpected detours. The story moves well. This could make a great movie with little need for tinkering.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

When you think that you have lost everything, you sometimes discover that you were wrong....

A deeply enjoyable man vs world story

Too many Man vs. World stories rely on characters who lack flaws. Characters who would be perfectly great at everything if the world would stop keeping them down.

Alan, our lead in Hologram, is a deeply flawed man. He is jealous and fearful, watching his life and dreams fade away and out of his grasp.

Alan wants to play by the rules, all the rules, but the rules refuse to stand still. He wants to do the right thing, but the right thing is never clear. He makes good decisions that go bad and bad decisions that work out just fine.

He is a sympathetic man, immanently relatable. This is good, because the story itself, when considered from afar, is quite boring. The journey of an interesting character struggling in an interesting location is enough for Dave Eggers to have a winner.