Dave Eggers explores the existential challenges of middle age in his novel A Hologram for the King. By sending his protagonist, Alan Clay, to Saudi Arabia for an important contract, Eggers places the audience at a comfortable distance from the actual horrors of aging. Within the thinly veiled narrative, readers are forced to encounter these struggles alongside Alan, giving them a certain plausible deniability.
Having recently completed a messy divorce, Alan calls his daughter, Kit when he arrives in Saudi Arabia. She's angry with both parents for how they handled their marriage, but Alan patiently reminds her that she's young and could stand to be more kind. He's painfully aware of how his decisions have effected her. In light of his recent employment change, he is already experiencing immense pressure to succeed on this trip, yet everything goes wrong. After repeatedly being denied audience with the king for the presentation, struggling to obtain sufficient internet or housing for the project, and dealing with a disturbingly large lump on his back, Alan has been laid waste. His presentation fails, but along the way he falls for his doctor, Zahra. Although their relationship is unconventional, they are both divorcees and benefit from one another's understanding.
Ungrounded, Alan has lost everything which he built his life around: wife, daughter, career, bodily health, home country. All of these variables which previously remained prerequisites for his perceived safety show themselves as illusions during his trip. Faced with the sharp distinction between American and Saudi Arabian culture, Alan begins challenging not just his prejudices but also his life vision. By the end of the trip he realizes that he wants to be happy, removed from all the chaos of his life back home. He finds solace and understanding with Zahra, and, most likely due to his age, he readily agrees never to stay in Saudia Arabia. With this value shift, he experiences a huge relief. He never thought he would find the companionship of a family again, not at this life stage, but he succeeds without really even trying.
