I'm not sure what Dave Eggers was thinking about for this book. Many of his others are my favorites - but this was confusingly lacking in a compelling plot or set of characters.
The story follows Alan, once a rising executive for Schwin bicycles, now reduced to leading a group of young people to pitch a technology to the King of Saudi Arabia because he once - briefly - knew the King's nephew. Alan faces many common middle-class issues: a demanding ex-wife, a daughter whose education is expensive, a career winding down before his financial responsibilities are complete. He and his colleagues arrive in a beautifully designed but completely unoccupied housing and commerce development in Saudi Arabia, and are frustrated to find that schedules and plans are ignored, and that the sense of urgency they feel to "do business" is unmatched. They are bored, waiting days to present. Sadly, I was bored, waiting days for the book to pick up.
I've read reviews that this is a modern-day parable of globalization. OK. It didn't make any points to me that I hadn't thought about myself, and I don't think about globalization that much. I am hopeful that Eggers' next book is more compelling, like his earlier work.
Thursday, August 16, 2012
My New American Life by Francine Prose
I really enjoyed this book. It was about a young Armenian woman named Lula who works as a housekeeper for a father and son outside of Manhattan. The story follows her relationships with them and with her immigration lawyer. Things get interesting when some fellow Armenians find her and insert themselves into her tidy life.
What was great about this book was the author's ability to detail different aspects of Lula's story. In some cases, we learn about her first few months in the US in a bar with other immigrant friends. In other cases, we peek into her domestic life. We see her act as a caretaker for the teenage boy in the home she works in, as well as for his father. And the scenes with the other Armenians are very rich - the contrast between her life and theirs very sharp while their similarities are also brought into focus.
I'd enjoy reading something else by Prose in the future.
What was great about this book was the author's ability to detail different aspects of Lula's story. In some cases, we learn about her first few months in the US in a bar with other immigrant friends. In other cases, we peek into her domestic life. We see her act as a caretaker for the teenage boy in the home she works in, as well as for his father. And the scenes with the other Armenians are very rich - the contrast between her life and theirs very sharp while their similarities are also brought into focus.
I'd enjoy reading something else by Prose in the future.
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