For October Hologram for the King

October A Hologram for the King by Dave Eggers

This story is an up to date story and a sociological view of business and life experience in the 2000's.

Two Quotes describe the body of the story.

  1.  "He and his peers did not know they were making decisions that would leave them, leave Alan, as he now was--virtually broke, nearly unemployed, the proprietor of a one-man consulting firm run out of his home office."
  2.  "We don't have unions we have  Filipinos."

The story features a character named Alan Clay.  Alan is an aging business man from Chicago making one last attempt as a salesman for a company pitching technology to the Saudis who need it for a massive housing development.

In his youth he started a career as a salesman for the Schwinn Bicycle Company.  His life history unfolds from this point.

What he does not understand about life in the USA is as important as what he knows about his unfolding life experience.  As the story progresses he runs into the economic conflict in the USA known as " the fleecing of America."

We are living in a complicated society and some of the complications are found in this story.