Book Review: A HOLOGRAM FOR THE KING By Dave Eggers ** out of *****

Literary fiction is a genre that is hard to pin down, as it is almost always swaying with the force of current intellectual and political winds. One way to look at it is that literary fiction is the opposite of punk-rock, which, by its very nature, goes against the tide, with the artist following his own vision, heart, and worldview, no matter what anybody thinks. Or, at least, that's what punk-rock used to be. It's hard to tell now, with literature, music, and almost all of art passing through numerous filters, gatekeepers, and intellectual bleach before it is made widely available to the public.

Dave Eggers's novel, A Hologram For The King, is, by golly, a piece of literary fiction so literary, it is almost bursting with existential ache. The story, which is gossamer-thin, follows Alan Clay, a failing salesman who believes in capitalism and the American dream, and whose only chance to get out from under approaching bankruptcy is to convince the King of Saudi Arabia to buy a new hologram technology that Clay is selling on behalf of a big tech company back in America. What follows is a series of "incidents" that reveal Saudi Arabia to be a den of contradictions, with veiled woman hooking-up in secret, where expatriates smuggle contraband moonshine named "صديقى" or "friend" in English, and where chauffeurs make references to American popular culture. Interspersed with all this "whimsy" and "insight", are flashbacks to Alan's past, which reveal how sad and hollow his life is, culminating in him remembering the time he took his daughter to NASA to watch a shuttle launch, and saying to himself: "I sold capitalism to communists!" in sheer, orgasmic pride.

It's all well-written, in clear, smooth prose. But it's also all pretentious, self-important nonsense. None of the characters come off as very real, especially Eggers's depiction of Saudis, who all talk like sardonic Americans. And the main character, Alan Clay, is basically set-up from the get-go as a tragic figure: hollow, sexually impotent, and lost in his zealous dedication to a corrupt system - capitalism, of course - that has betrayed him and left him with nothing. While taking shots at unbridled capitalism could be an admirable goal if dealt with with nuance, insight, and clarity, Eggers's approach is nothing but a string of cliches and misery-mongering passages, making his point over, and over again without any subtlety or real insight, delivering a book that begins well enough, but slowly devolves into a boring, dour, and ultimately unredeeming tale as hollow as its main character.

But, of course, I could be wrong, as The Boston Globe calls the novel "genius", while The New York Times says that Eggers "spins [a] story that approaches Beckett in its absurdist despair.” Genius? Really? To each his own, I guess.

Text © Ahmed Khalifa. 2021.

Ahmed Khalifa is a filmmaker and novelist. He is the writer/director of the feature film Wingrave, released on Netflix, and the author of a number of novels and short stories, including the YA horror novel, Beware The Stranger, available on Amazon. Find him on Twitter @AFKhalifa and on Facebook @Dark.Fantastic.AK·Writer

Review: Clive Barker's Hellraiser: Omnibus Volume 1 (2012) ** and 1\2 out of four

When it was announced that Clive Barker was returning to his Hellraiser universe for the first time since Hellbound: Hellraiser II (1988), fans around the world rejoiced. Barker and co. promised to bring the franchise back to its glory days of the 80s, and deliver something truly special. After finishing the five volumes that make up this saga, I'm left with ambivalent feelings about the whole thing.

The story begins promisingly enough, with Kirsty Cotton, the heroine of the novella The Hellbound Heart and the first two Hellraiser movies (she was also featured in 2002's Hellraiser: Hellseeker in a very minor role) and her team of "Harrowers" searching for all of Le Marchand's toys and devices and destroying them in an attempt to close the gateways to hell, forever. Then we realize that the Hell Priest a.k.a Pinhead is seemingly tired of hell and his mission, and wants to become human again. And the only way to do that is to find a replacement. To say anymore would be unfair.

The story features twists and turns aplenty, some of them terrific, others hackneyed and contrived. But, for me, the story derails completely with the fourth volume, as the storytelling becomes bigger and bigger (or more epic, if you like), and the plot becomes annoyingly convoluted and overblown.

It is obvious that Barker, who likes things "big", uses the comic book format to do things he knows he'll probably never get a chance to do in a feature or TV show: epic set pieces and extravagant special effects. But it's all to the detriment of the storytelling, with the Hellraiser mythos transforming into an epic dark fantasy adventure, replete with battleships and government conspiracies.

There's a lot to like about this series, including some terrific artwork, some neat twists, surprise appearances by characters from the entire Hellraiser universe, and the return of Barker's unique voice, which has been sorely missing from the franchise for decades. But, ultimately, this is a somewhat disappointing experience, with a true letdown of an ending. Also, be warned: it ends on a cliffhanger.