A Hologram for the King by Dave Eggers ~ 2012. This edition: McSweeney’s Books, 2012. First Edition. Hardcover. ISBN: 978-1-936365-74-6. 312 pages.
My rating: 5.5/10. Most of the points are for readability – and it definitely was that. And half a point for sheer physical gorgeousness – this is a very handsome piece of bookbinding. But I couldn’t rate it any higher – the gaps of logic in the storyline are as wide as the Sahara. Perhaps I am too far removed from the protagonist’s world to fully engage. Or something.
Would I read another book by this author? Sure, I’d give him another chance. From the library, though – wouldn’t shell out any sort of serious cash; feels like too much of a gamble.
*****
Picked up on a whim, this one was an all right light read, but it ultimately felt unmemorable. Just nothing there, like a mirage in the desert – intriguing at first but faded away. It was a very fast read – the prose was spare and clean and raced right along – stylish presentation. I’ve a large number of reviews I want to write piling up, so I thought this might be a good one to cheat on and to borrow someone else’s review of, but looking at some of the mainstream reviews – The Globe & Mail, New York Times, The Boston Globe – it appears that my take is in the minority. The “real” reviewers apparently thought this was a deep and important novel. Ah, well. Good thing I’m only a blip in the blog world!
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Leaves & Pages 