A Hologram for the King is a kind of globalized update of Death of a Salesman, with a post-modern but equally pitiable and insecure protagonist, Alan Clay as 21st century Willie Loman. Alan worked for years at Schwinn bicycle company, surely a poster-boy for American business failure in the globalized economy. He now works for Reliant, a huge conglomerate. The book is set in Saudi Arabia as Clay and his team try (intend is a better verb I think) to sell an IT package to the king relevant to the planned (and largely fantasy) future economic city/dream of King Abdullah Economic City (stereotypical white elephant ego fantasy of a developing nation's leader). All does not go well, as the story meanders through empty time and space, strange chance encounters that do not pan out, and general meaninglessness. It's well written but tends to go nowhere, which, I guess, is the point.
Click here for a review of the book from The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/jan/30/hologram-for-king-eggers-review
Click here for a review of the book from The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/jan/30/hologram-for-king-eggers-review
