Meet the Cast
Alan Clay
The Name Says it AllYou don't just name a character Alan Clay by accident. This is a name that is a) designed to be yawn-inspiringly boring and b) smack us silly with symbolism.What kind of qualiti...
Yousef
A Not-So-Angry Young ManAlan's new BFF, Yousef, is the kind of sidekick every hero wants: personable, tolerant of stupid jokes, not too angsty. He's basically a cuter, worldlier version of Sam Gam...
Hanne
A Friend In NeedWe have to say: if there's a spinoff of A Hologram For the King out there, we want it to be about Hanne. A book about a moonshine-drinking, hard-partying Danish woman who lives in t...
Zahra Hakem
DesireDr. H has an important distinction in this book (other than being a female doctor in a largely oppressive, male-dominated society): she's the only one who can get Alan to feel any emotion. An...
Ruby
The Crazy ExLook, we're not fond of this label either (unless it's being applied to Rachel Bloom's brilliant show) but Eggers isn't giving us much choice here. Ruby is cast as the typical crazy ex-...
Kit Clay
Collateral DamageKit never makes an actual appearance in this work, but she's involved in some of Alan's most painful (and sweetest) memories. She's also the star of all his regrets. His main goal...
Charlie Fallon
Frenemies?Charlie was Alan's close friend and neighbor in Massachusetts. That is…until Charlie kills himself by drowning in a cold pond, right in front of first responders and neighbors who are t...
Ron Clay
Grumpy Old ManIf you've got that irascible old dude in your family who always ruins Thanksgiving dinner by talking about how horrible modern times are, then you already know Alan's dad. Ron Clay is...
Eric Ingvall
Boss. Leader. Jerk.Eric is Alan's boss at Reliant and there is zero love lost between these two guys. For Alan, Eric represents everything that's holding him back in the current marketplace: he kno...
Karim al-Ahmad
Karim is the inaccessible liaison at KAEC. And this guy is also the character who gets the benefit of some of Eggers' most scathing (and hilarious) description: He was young and handsome and overpo...
Salem
Maybe no one defies Alan's narrow expectations about life in Saudi Arabia more than Salem…and that's saying a lot. Alan just doesn't think he'd meet a Bohemian in the middle of the Saudi Arabian...