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fionafsw's review
dark
funny
informative
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
I devoured this book like that Marianas Trench shark did the aquarium contents.
The Circle was a page-turner and an easy read in that sense: the writing was elegant and flawless and never gave me cause to question, stumble or stop. The dystopic and only slightly fictional world that the author (who is the founder of McSweeney's) created was well thought through and believable. All elements of this world checked out, and what I appreciated was that the author showed me things not for the sake of showing off how clever he was to have come up with them but because every detail played a role in completing my immersion into that world. The plot was fast-paced and the dialogue was crisp and natural.
The story was as if a collection of Black Mirror episodes were combined and transformed into a 500-page novel. Its starting point is our current digitalized and social media-dominated world and takes it several steps farther. What made my reading experience so riveting was that transformations continued to take place as the plot progressed: the world was dynamic and (d)evolved further with every page.
The climax was one of the best I'd ever read in any novel. Perfect build-up - and release - of tension.
Perhaps my only question is where all the political science and philosophy students were to remind everyone of the downsides to direct democracy or the logical gaps in ideas like focusing policing on those with a prior record. Though I guess the point is that the Circle dissolves critical thinking and silences voices that resist assimilation into the hive mind.
The Circle presents big topics in a very digestible way. I see it as an interesting complement to William Dalrymple's The Anarchy in its warning about what can happen when a private for-profit corporation expands unchecked.
The Circle was a page-turner and an easy read in that sense: the writing was elegant and flawless and never gave me cause to question, stumble or stop. The dystopic and only slightly fictional world that the author (who is the founder of McSweeney's) created was well thought through and believable. All elements of this world checked out, and what I appreciated was that the author showed me things not for the sake of showing off how clever he was to have come up with them but because every detail played a role in completing my immersion into that world. The plot was fast-paced and the dialogue was crisp and natural.
The story was as if a collection of Black Mirror episodes were combined and transformed into a 500-page novel. Its starting point is our current digitalized and social media-dominated world and takes it several steps farther. What made my reading experience so riveting was that transformations continued to take place as the plot progressed: the world was dynamic and (d)evolved further with every page.
The climax was one of the best I'd ever read in any novel. Perfect build-up - and release - of tension.
Perhaps my only question is where all the political science and philosophy students were to remind everyone of the downsides to direct democracy or the logical gaps in ideas like focusing policing on those with a prior record. Though I guess the point is that the Circle dissolves critical thinking and silences voices that resist assimilation into the hive mind.
The Circle presents big topics in a very digestible way. I see it as an interesting complement to William Dalrymple's The Anarchy in its warning about what can happen when a private for-profit corporation expands unchecked.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gaslighting
Minor: Chronic illness
loiscarlisle's review against another edition
dark
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Chronic illness, and Animal death
theloveroflovers's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
The characters are so unlikable that at some point you get the urge to keep reading to see them realise their stupidity. The writting stile is good but to detailed, slow-paced. The book was too long and the end wasn't sadisfying.
If you wanr to read the book, listen to the audibook instead.
If you wanr to read the book, listen to the audibook instead.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Car accident, and Sexual content
Moderate: Child abuse, Body shaming, Bullying, Fatphobia, Kidnapping, Sexual content, Stalking, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Pedophilia, Cancer, Cursing, Kidnapping, Police brutality, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Body shaming, Chronic illness, Classism, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Bullying, Car accident, Child death, Hate crime, Mental illness, and Murder
shortstackmayor's review
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Chronic illness, and Animal death
Moderate: Car accident, Suicide, and Fatphobia
ottercorg's review
dark
funny
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Usually it's hard for me to read a book with a main character that makes me so mad, but for this plot to really work, Mae had to play that role.
I love considering at which moment any given reader would finally say The Circle had gone to far. At which new implement does any given reader lose hope?
I read this book thinking about Meta, and now that I've finished I think about it in the context of Ai in this current world.
Anyway, I thoroughly enjoyed it. As always, I like books to neatly tie off all plotlines at the end and this one doesn't do that - but apparently this is a series, which means there's still hope...
I love considering at which moment any given reader would finally say The Circle had gone to far. At which new implement does any given reader lose hope?
I read this book thinking about Meta, and now that I've finished I think about it in the context of Ai in this current world.
Anyway, I thoroughly enjoyed it. As always, I like books to neatly tie off all plotlines at the end and this one doesn't do that - but apparently this is a series, which means there's still hope...
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic friendship, Kidnapping, Slavery, Death, Medical trauma, Medical content, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual content, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Alcohol, Car accident, and Chronic illness
samdalefox's review
challenging
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
I read this because I had heard good reviews from people who don't usually read dystopican sci-fi type books, plus I saw the film advertsied on netflix and thought I'd like to read the book before trying the film. So I didn't have high expectations, but I did have expectations. I think that people like The Circle so much precisely because they've not read other dystopian scifi. If you’ve never swam in the ocean then of course a pool seems deep. The Circle is ok, but it's nothing new (totalitarian corporate capitalist technocracy has been around for decades) and it's certainly not done well. Eggers even cocks up the references and definitions by referring to it as communism....twice.
The usual themes emerge: the use, scope, and abuse of power that comes with who can own, access, and benefit/be penalised by technology. The limits of personal privacy and individualism vs the 'collective good' of transparency. The importance of consent and having the option to opt out. Very limited commentary on the role and limitations of democracy. It touched upon more modern ermeging issues such as changes to people's sense of identity, belonging, and self worth i.e., "The tools you use, artificially manufacture unaturally extreme social needs". Plus the addictiveness, feeling of urgency, and faux-connectedness of being 'very online'. In a nutshell, a society that knows the price of everything but the value of nothing.
I agree with the review referenced below. I will also add that I found Mae's character unbelievably naive. Even accounting for her desperate need for praise and age. For me things went downhill rapidly after the end of book one with her announcement of going transparent . Most events that occurred did so slowly, repetitively, superficially, predictably and naively. The ending did not surprise me or disappoint me, it was simply one big meh. It didn't scare me at all. In short, there are other books out there that have covered these topics in greater depth, with more interesting angles, and with a better command of storytelling. I'd recommend first reading Liu Cixin's scifi short story 'The Mirror'.
dllh's review:
The usual themes emerge: the use, scope, and abuse of power that comes with who can own, access, and benefit/be penalised by technology. The limits of personal privacy and individualism vs the 'collective good' of transparency. The importance of consent and having the option to opt out. Very limited commentary on the role and limitations of democracy. It touched upon more modern ermeging issues such as changes to people's sense of identity, belonging, and self worth i.e., "The tools you use, artificially manufacture unaturally extreme social needs". Plus the addictiveness, feeling of urgency, and faux-connectedness of being 'very online'. In a nutshell, a society that knows the price of everything but the value of nothing.
I agree with the review referenced below. I will also add that I found Mae's character unbelievably naive. Even accounting for her desperate need for praise and age. For me things went downhill rapidly after the end of book one with her announcement
dllh's review:
"This is fine, if a bit long and baggy, for like commodity fiction, but it was really disappointing as a book from an author with literary proclivities. It's an important subject whose potential is ruined in this book by a failure at some of the basics of writing well. The characters are just barely two dimensional, and their interactions often feel as if written by somebody who has never actually witnessed human interaction outside of badly written dialogue. The details of the book are sufficiently close to our current reality as to not feel outlandishly dystopian but sufficiently off kilter as to not feel quite real, which makes reading it a really strange experience. To work well, fiction of this sort needs to be either outlandish or close enough to reality that the divergences from reality are really significant, and I don't think Eggers achieves that balance."
Content Warnings
Minor: Sexual assault, Chronic illness, Fatphobia, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship
mattbookpro's review
Could not make myself interested in the story or conflict. Main character felt one dimensional.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Fatphobia
Minor: Chronic illness
emclean95's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Body shaming, Stalking, and Fatphobia
Moderate: Chronic illness, Medical content, and Ableism
skeptic_hecate's review
challenging
dark
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
This book went really dark really fast, but in a very subtle way, which I appreciate. The author could really pull of the mental gymnastics and the self brainwashing the protagonist went through. If anything, this book is a great study on cult mentality and guilt culture. I sincerely hope humanity is not down that path. It is a modern version of Orwellian dystopia. It definitely wrinkled my brain, the writing style is subtle enough for one to really imagine seeing themselves in a similar situation. The ending was a bit predictable, but no less frightening because of that. I highly recommend this read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism
Moderate: Chronic illness
Minor: Kidnapping and Slavery
eule's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
I like and loathe this book simultaneously. This book is important to read. It’s important to understand and stress the right to anonymity. „We must all have the right to disappear“ as a certain character (no spoiler) put it in the book. While I believe this book is crucial to read, I still hate it wholeheartedly. Why, you may ask?
- I hate nearly all characters, especially the main character, Mae Holland (arrogant, naïve, selfish, indecisive, biased, disgusting, facile, ignorant, … the list goes on)
- I hate the weird relationships she has (never call the tip of a penis crown again)
- I hate Mae’s non-existing personality (why did they chose poor Emma Watson in the movie???)
- I hate that this book has no chapters (Is it meant to be a circle with no ending or beginning?)
- I hate that character development is missing (she had so many chances to change her behavior), even though that’s the whole point of the book: she is supposed to represent the people blindly following a monopoly system
- I hate the fatphobia and the CONSTANT MANIPULATION, HELP
- I hate and love simultaneously that the plot is „just“ about the life at the company and how it takes over the world
- I am confused about the tension. I was sometimes bored to death because she was rendering about her „dumb friends (Mercer and Annie) and family (her parents). And in the next moment I wanted to know if we will ever get revenge on this entitled bitch and the inveterate circle
You see, I am enraged about this book and that’s the whole point, I believe. We have to understand that this book, even though it was published 10 years ago, is a mirror to today’s reality (have Google, Facebook and co in mind). Still you could have easily shortened the book by 100/200 pages.
Ps: thank you to my friend Nex for letting me buy this book from him :)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Toxic relationship, Addiction, Forced institutionalization, Alcohol, Medical content, Body shaming, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Car accident, Child abuse, Abandonment, Child death, and Colonisation