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A review by jhbandcats
The Circle by Dave Eggers
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- 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
4.0
Absolutely terrifying. I was almost crippled by tension from the beginning and it just kept getting worse and worse. I kept putting the book down because I needed a break from how riled up I was getting.
It’s like “1984” intensified five times. I kept thinking of the term “drinking the Kool-Aid” while I was reading this. Everyone is brainwashed into thinking a monopoly that controls information on literally everyone and everything is a good idea.
The inventors of the Circle (the Facebook / Google / Amazon conglomerate) show what’s great about it. If there were surveillance cameras everywhere, totalitarianism wouldn’t exist because no one would tolerate the crimes they were seeing. But no one asks what happens if the totalitarians are the ones in control. If every child had a chip imbedded at birth, no child could ever be kidnapped again. But no child who then grows to an adult would ever be free of the system, they’d always be controlled.
Mae’s slogan - Privacy is Theft - is beyond terrifying to me. Nothing is private, everyone can see and hear everything. (The issue of porn wasn’t addressed beyond something like, If sex is everywhere it won’t be a big thing.)
At the same time, I somehow accept that all my personal info is out there, available - so while I see the awfulness of the Circle in the book I’m already living it in real life. I think this book is going to keep me up all night….
UPDATE: It seemed unlikely to me that Mae’s mysterious man would’ve approached her unless it was for long-view manipulative reasons, and that wasn’t mentioned.
It’s like “1984” intensified five times. I kept thinking of the term “drinking the Kool-Aid” while I was reading this. Everyone is brainwashed into thinking a monopoly that controls information on literally everyone and everything is a good idea.
The inventors of the Circle (the Facebook / Google / Amazon conglomerate) show what’s great about it. If there were surveillance cameras everywhere, totalitarianism wouldn’t exist because no one would tolerate the crimes they were seeing. But no one asks what happens if the totalitarians are the ones in control. If every child had a chip imbedded at birth, no child could ever be kidnapped again. But no child who then grows to an adult would ever be free of the system, they’d always be controlled.
Mae’s slogan - Privacy is Theft - is beyond terrifying to me. Nothing is private, everyone can see and hear everything. (The issue of porn wasn’t addressed beyond something like, If sex is everywhere it won’t be a big thing.)
At the same time, I somehow accept that all my personal info is out there, available - so while I see the awfulness of the Circle in the book I’m already living it in real life. I think this book is going to keep me up all night….
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gaslighting