AUDIO

A Hologram for the King

by Dave Eggers
7 CDs. library ed. unabridged. 7¾ hrs. Recorded Bks. 2012. ISBN 9781470321079. $77.75; 1 MP3-CD. library ed.; Playaway digital; digital download. F
COPY ISBN
Eggers's (A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius; Zeitoun) latest presents a fable, a postmodern blend of Waiting for Godot and Death of a Salesman. This is the story of Alan Clay, an American salesman who has come to Saudi Arabia to pitch the services of the IT company for which he works. This pitch is to be made to Saudi's King Abdullah, and it is for this sovereign whom Alan waits. And waits. More than anything else, this novel is a story of impotence, both in Alan's personal and professional lives and the growing impotence of America as a global power.
VERDICT Ably presented by Dion Graham (who has narrated other Eggers audiobooks), Hologram is especially recommended for those interested in 21st-century American storytelling. [The McSweeney's hc was a New York Times best seller.—Ed.]
Reviewed by Wendy Galgan, St. Francis Coll., Brooklyn , May 01, 2013
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