Name: The Parade
Rating: 3.58 (25 reviews)
ISBN: 9781643582115

Dave Eggers

"Published in the year 2019 by arrangement with Alfred A. Knopf, an imprint of The Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC"--Copyright page.

The Parade

From the bestselling author of The Circle and The Monk of Mokha comes a taut, suspenseful story of two foreigners' role in a nation's fragile peace. 'Tightly written, carefully designed to wrong-foot preconceptions, and astute . . . An intensely gripping story' Evening Standard An unnamed country is leaving the darkness of a decade at war, and to commemorate the armistice the government commissions a new road connecting two halves of the state. Two men, foreign contractors from the same company, are sent to finish the highway. While one is flighty and adventurous, wanting to experience the nightlife and people, the other wants only to do the work and go home. But both men must eventually face the absurdities of their positions, and the dire consequences of their presence. With echoes of J. M. Coetzee and Graham Greene, this timeless novel questions whether we can ever understand another nation's war, and what role we have in forging anyone's peace. 'Certainly his best book since What is the What, The Parade may well be the sound of a major writer finding his mature voice' Spectator

An overall average, but not uninteresting piece of fiction.

The two characters are meant to resemble two extremes of Western outlooks of third world countries.

Nine is the type to see it as a cultural experience, he is satisfied quickly. Although the road he should be spending time paving would help all these people a thousand times more than a quick roll in the bushes with one and a good supper with another, he doesn’t see it this way.

Four sees this as a job and a job only. He may think, in passing, that this will help a ton of people, but he kind of doesn’t care too much for the people- he cares more about this road than it. He loves the perfection of it that he turns a blind eye to the destruction it’s built right over.

However, most of the book is just paving a road with a few incidents and a near death experience towards the end.

Rachel

An overall average, but not uninteresting piece of fiction.

The two characters are meant to resemble two extremes of Western outlooks of third world countries.

Nine is the type to see it as a cultural experience, he is satisfied quickly. Although the road he should be spending time paving would help all these people a thousand times more than a quick roll in the bushes with one and a good supper with another, he doesn’t see it this way.

Four sees this as a job and a job only. He may think, in passing, that this will help a ton of people, but he kind of doesn’t care too much for the people- he cares more about this road than it. He loves the perfection of it that he turns a blind eye to the destruction it’s built right over.

However, most of the book is just paving a road with a few incidents and a near death experience towards the end.

Also, the end is stupid. Thankssss.

From a beloved author, a spare, powerful story of two men, Western contractors sent to work far from home, tasked with paving a road to the capital in a dangerous and largely lawless country. Four and Five are partners, working for the same company, sent without passports to a nation recovering from ten years of civil war. Together, operating under pseudonyms and anonymous to potential kidnappers, they are given a new machine, the RS-90, and tasked with building a highway that connects the country's far-flung villages with the capital. Four, nicknamed "The Clock," is one of the highway's most experienced operators, never falling short of his assigned schedule. He drives the RS-90, stopping only to sleep and eat the food provided by the company. But Five is an agent of chaos: speeding ahead on his vehicle, chatting and joking with locals, eating at nearby bars and roadside food stands, he threatens the schedule, breaks protocol, and endangers the work that they must complete in time for a planned government parade. His every action draws Four's ire, but when illness, corruption, and theft compromise their high-stakes mission, Four and Five discover danger far greater than anything they could pose to one another.

A Novel

I quite enjoyed the righting style! The plot was a bit obvious, but still conveyed the message and held my attention. 

Rachel Stratton

i want to love it. i definitely enjoyed the main themes (based on my interpretation - 1:  striking a balance between living a pragmatic/arguably rigid life while not missing out on what life has to offer; and 2: western interference on “developing” societies and its negative impacts). however, maybe i’m a lil spoiled because i feel like i’ve read books that addressed the second theme in a more comprehensive, emotionally detailed way that made me feel (italics) for the characters and their predicaments (i’m looking at you the poppy war trilogy). but anyways, this book fell a bit flat for me. 

the way the book was written was very black and white, and that’s exactly how the characters were portrayed too. it’s easy to understand what the author was trying to get at, but i felt that the delivery just lacked for me. i want to see dynamic characters, internal struggle (we did see a teeny tiny bit), conflict! everything just seemed a little touch and go. 

don’t get me wrong tho, it’s a book that appeals to the portion of readers who enjoy books like “the alchemist”. however, it’s not for readers who enjoy feeling strong feelings while reading. 

Jeremy Anderberg

Two men, simply called Four and Nine (no reason to get personal here), are foreign contractors in an unnamed war-ravaged country. They're paving a road that will connect what equates to America's North and South after our Civil War. Four is a straight-laced, Type A guy who just wants to pave the road and get the hell out of there. No interacting with the locals, no eating the local food, no deviating from the plan.

Nine is just about the polar opposite. His flowing locks are always in his face, he's not much for doing work, and is quickly entranced by the local culture. It's very much an Odd Couple scenario, played out to the extreme. Four and Nine are caricatures of their traits.

And that's about it. Four and Nine have a road to pave—one of them is eager to get it done; the other is not. Eventually, there's some consequences for their actions, and neither character comes out the other side looking all that admirable, or all that deplorable.

I like Eggers' writing style enough to have fully appreciated that part of it, but the story itself didn't do a whole lot for me. It was enjoyable at first, but quickly became a thin tale that didn't offer back story or personality or . . . fullness. I still love the guy. And I'll still snag the next book as fast as I can. But this one is a pass for me. The only stipulation is that if you like Eggers, it's worth reading—especially given the minimal time investment required.

Drew Sawicki

Paula Zipp

James Wattie

Tristan McAteer

Kyle Curry

Dennis Jacob Rosenfeld

Sang Park

Jay Harris

Ben Radford

Jamie de Rooij

Kathy Rodger 

"From the best-selling author of The Monk of Mokha, a spare, powerful story of two men, Western contractors sent to work far from home, tasked with paving a road to the capital in a dangerous and largely lawless country. Four and Nine are partners, working for the same company, sent without passports to a nation recovering from ten years of civil war. Together, operating under pseudonyms and anonymous to potential kidnappers, they are given a new machine, the RS-90, and tasked with building a highway that connects the country's far-flung villages with the capital. Four, nicknamed the Clock, is one of the company's most experienced operators, never falling short of his assigned schedule. He drives the RS-90, stopping only to sleep and eat the food provided by the company. But Nine is an agent of chaos: speeding ahead on his vehicle, chatting and joking with locals, eating at nearby bars and roadside food stands, he threatens the schedule, breaks protocol, and endangers the work that they must complete in time for a planned government parade. His every action draws Four's ire, but when illness, corruption, and theft compromise their high-stakes mission, Four and Nine discover danger far greater than anything they could pose to each other"--

The Parade

Reviews

Highlights