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Hail to the King

Chris Flynn July 23

Up until a few months ago there was no real indication of a new Dave Eggers novel in the works, and then in April a mysterious cover image appeared on the back of a Dutch publisher’s catalogue, suggesting that a new book was not only in progress, but about to be released. C. Max Magee, one of the founders of literary site The Millions, ran the blurb through a translator to establish a title – A Hologram for the King—and the outline for a story about an American businessman in Saudi Arabia trying to sell holographic technology to King Abdullah. No further information could be gleaned from publisher McSweeney’s, who remained tight-lipped.

Three months later and A Hologram for the King has been released. The reluctance to engage in advance publicity for the title has most publishers scratching their heads, but comes as little surprise to the legions of Eggers fans worldwide, who are undoubtedly glad to see the author blithely ignoring the usual niceties. The novel was in fact not announced until June 4th, in an interview with Stephen Elliott on The Rumpus and published a fortnight later.

Having pre-ordered a copy, I got my hands on it nice and early. A hardback decorated with intricate etching (by Jessica Hische, who has also done the opening titles to the new Wes Anderson movie, Moonrise Kingdom), it’s a fast, easy read that delivers an Eggers hit sure to satisfy fans. The story does indeed revolve around an American businessman trying to sell holographic conference call tech to King Abdullah, though it also touches on some of America’s current economic woes. King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC) is a real place, a budding metropolis in the desert seeking investors and protagonist Alan Clay is your classic baby boomer business entrepreneur with his back to the wall, loaded with debt and struggling to pay for his daughter’s college tuition. Clay once worked for bike manufacturer Schwinn in Chicago, and was one of the men responsible for its outsourcing of manufacturing to Asia, resulting in the company’s fall from grace.

Eggers explores the foibles and contradictions of Saudi Arabia, where alcohol is forbidden and adultery is a crime punishable by death. Clay badly needs to secure the contract but spends the whole book waiting for the King to arrive. In the meantime he embraces Saudi culture, to a degree, finding a friend in sardonic driver/student Yousef, attending bacchanal at the Danish embassy and falling for local doctor Zahra, who deals with the weird protrusion growing on his spine. It’s a novel about waiting, and boredom, yet still manages to zip along. Oddly, the book it reminded me of most was The Lovers, his wife Vendela Vida’s 2010 novel. That has widow Yvonne revisiting a coastal Turkish town she and her husband honeymooned in. She too spends a lot of time waiting by the sea and forging reluctant friendships with the locals.

One of the juiciest elements of the book is Clay’s anguish over his part in Schwinn’s downfall. Eggers grew up in Chicago and witnessed the bike company fall apart, so when it came to printing A Hologram for the King, he decided to support American business by using an onshore printer. McSweeney’s have used printers in Iceland, Canada, Asia and America before, but Eggers confessed in an interview with the New Yorker that he recently had, ‘a come-to-Jesus moment when it came to the printing of McSweeney’s books.’

The book was produced by Thomson-Shore, a printer just outside the economically decimated city of Detroit. Eggers visited the plant and became friends with the staff, many of whom had been there for decades. The result is the most beautiful novel I’ve seen this year, rendering A Hologram for the King the total package—great story, great writer, desirable object. Sweetly, and appropriately, Eggers thanks every single staff member at Thomson-Shore in the acknowledgments.

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