Dave Eggers will publish a new novel with McSweeney’s at the end of the month.
A Hologram For The King tells the story of an aging businessman’s “last-ditch attempt to stave off foreclosure” and sell digital technology in Saudi Arabia. Over at The Rumpus, Eggers talked with author Stephen Elliott about his upcoming novel.
Eggers explained how he discovered the idea: “My brother-in-law had just been to Saudi Arabia with his company, and he told me about these cities that King Abdullah is trying to construct from scratch, these centers of education and manufacturing and other catalysts for a post-oil economy. I was fascinated by the idea of American businesspeople coming to these nascent cities in the desert, trying to get in on the ground floor. That was the start of it at least, and it gelled with some ideas I was having about this aging businessman who’s painted himself into a corner.”