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asafekindofhigh's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Graphic: Fatphobia, Toxic relationship, Car accident, Suicide, Body shaming, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Alcohol, Toxic friendship, Gaslighting, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Animal death, and Animal cruelty
cecinamo's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Sometimes it really stressed me out reading about how social interaction and having no privacy were basically mandatory o_o…
The mc is a classical unreliable narrator. It’s maddening how self centered and close minded she is at some points.
The book explores the dangers of a completely digitalized and surveilled world. It’s very interesting and scary.
I think the ending fell a bit short, but overall it was very good! :>
Graphic: Fatphobia, Car accident, Suicide, Alcohol, Animal death, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Gaslighting, Blood, Stalking, Misogyny, Grief, Death, and Mental illness
theloveroflovers's review against another edition
- 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
If you wanr to read the book, listen to the audibook instead.
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
ottercorg's review
- 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
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...
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
lizwizwiz's review
- 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
3.0
Moderate: Alcohol and Fatphobia
Minor: Death
robyn_fenix's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Death, Medical content, Suicide, and Fatphobia
Moderate: Alcohol, Bullying, Panic attacks/disorders, Animal death, Cancer, and Stalking
Minor: Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Medical content, Abandonment, Slavery, Cancer, Sexual violence, Child abuse, Grief, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Cultural appropriation, Eating disorder, Murder, Police brutality, Racism, and Sexual assault
eule's review against another edition
- 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 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 :)
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
jayjaystrawbae's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Now, my one digression is with Mae. She constantly showed the readers how much she lacked a brain. While, I try to understand the fact that the Circle has become her life now, I’m also shocked that even after everyone leaves her, she still believes in the power of the Circle. Even after the death of Mercer, which had been done by her hands. Or the loss of a relationship with her parents. Even her best friend wanting to get out of it all. Who was obviously not mentally ok. Now I’m not sure if Annie tried to kill herself or not, but we can all agree Mae showed a lot of obliviousness to the entire situation.
One thing I can say, Eggers did an amazing job at making me dislike her. Which I don’t think is a negative quality. While annoying, i saw it as her being a product of her environment. She hated her life before the Circle. She hated not being seen and heard, but they gave her the chance to be loved in ways she never got before. Why would she leave that? To go back to an office job she hated. Or parents who don’t want anything to do with her.
The end of the book was a mess. But I’m glad she didn’t choose to be convinced by Kalden so easily. And it really exemplified how far the Circle would go to “know” everything.
“They needed to talk about Annie, the thoughts she was thinking. Why shouldn’t they know them? The world deserved nothing less and would not wait” (Eggers, 491)
Extra: I don’t have a problem with nothing happening with the sex tape between Francis and Mae. I just wish some accountability was taken by Mae. I would’ve loved anything that went against Mae and succeeded. A moment of failure for her. Apart from 368 people not liking her. Eyeroll. Mae was the example of a perfect person who still felt deeply troubled internally, while Annie’s family’s past led to her ultimate collapse. Mae was indeed not 100% transparent. About her feelings. Having to put on a show for the camera daily, when inside she just wanted to crumble away. What would’ve happened if she had done whatever she wanted, instead of whatever everyone else wanted. Ultimately, she became a slave to the Circle, leaving behind anyone and everyone who might actually care about her. And that, I think is her own personal punishment.
If you want to discuss more, dm me at @marklukesandman
Graphic: Body shaming and Fatphobia
Moderate: Bullying, Death, and Car accident
Minor: Child abuse, Alcohol, Child death, Classism, and Death
greatexpectations77's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.25
Graphic: Chronic illness, Fatphobia, Sexual content, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, and Death
Moderate: Child death, Alcohol, and Child abuse
Minor: Domestic abuse, Kidnapping, and Murder
If you enjoy books where you like to root for the main character, pass.turners's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Alcohol and Sexual content