The Circle

The Circle is written by Dave Eggers and was published on 8 October 2013

“When Mae Holland is hired to work for the Circle, the world’s most powerful internet company, she feels she’s been given the opportunity of a lifetime. The Circle, run out of a sprawling California campus, links users’ personal emails, social media, banking, and purchasing with their universal operating system, resulting in one online identity and a new age of civility and transparency.
As Mae tours the open-plan office spaces, the towering glass dining facilities, the cozy dorms for those who spend nights at work, she is thrilled with the company’s modernity and activity. There are parties that last through the night, there are famous musicians playing on the lawn, there are athletic activities and clubs and brunches, and even an aquarium of rare fish retrieved from the Marianas Trench by the CEO.
Mae can’t believe her luck, her great fortune to work for the most influential company in America – even as life beyond the campus grows distant, even as a strange encounter with a colleague leaves her shaken, even as her role at the Circle becomes increasingly public. What begins as the captivating story of one woman’s ambition and idealism soon becomes a heart-racing novel of suspense, raising questions about memory, history, privacy, democracy, and the limits of human knowledge.”*

The Circle isn’t based on any new revelations – as a society, we have been collectively warned about the power of social media and the growing influence it has on our lives. Each and every day, someone is tweeting, updating their status, watching a video…it has become integrated in our lives the same way brushing our teeth is. This normalcy makes it easy to imagine a platform like Google taking over the world piece by piece, and this is what makes The Circle so terrifying; it very well could be true.

The book itself presents an issue in the form of Maebelline “Mae” Holland, the protagonist (and antagonist, depending on one’s POV). Unfortunately, Mae is simply not likable. From the beginning, she comes off as stuck up, narcissistic, and honestly, just plain mean. Mae’s ex-boyfriend Mercer is often the scapegoat for her ranting episodes, but the worst she can call him his condescending and a fat Sasquatch. It’s spiteful and not relevant to the story whatsoever. Mae also complains about working an office job, but has no problem transferring to another office job because yay! New phone! Kind of nice people!! The CIRCLE!!!

The Circle is another issue entirely. It seems as if Mercer is the only person who has an issue with the entire business, and that just isn’t realistic. There is never any mention of revolt or opposing parties from normal people. Where are the others like Mercer, or Mae’s parents? Also, why isn’t there any breech of privacy laws? They do exist in this world (as it’s played off to be the near future), so one can assume our laws today are still in place. Where is the issue with putting “SeeChange” cameras on private property? Surely if I wanted to go place a camera on a neighbor’s lawn, I’d have to answer for a multitude of offences – trespassing, destruction of property, etc. So why is this not addressed?

This is my first Eggers book (though I do believe I’ll be reading more), and it seems that characters aren’t his strong suit. I’ve covered Mae, but there are secondary characters that just seem inconsequential. Mae’s parents have no substance, and so when they essentially disappear, I went “meh”. When Annie had a nervous breakdown and lapsed into a coma, I went “meh”. When Francis came in and out of the picture (constantly), I went “meh”, then “please leave forever”. Francis has nothing going for him, and the fact that Mae always runs back to him only to part ways again is exhausting – also, it doesn’t enhance the story whatsoever. If Francis was scrapped completely, this book wouldn’t change at all, and that’s how you know something has to change. The characters aren’t developed properly, and even though the “twist” at the end is surprising, it ends up feeling like a cheap trick.

Of course there are always good points to the book. Any novel that can get me thinking after finishing it deserves a fair review. As we head into a digital world, there are so many ethical issues we have to face. While I think this novel is a dramatization, it’s not so far-fetched, and that’s where I think it is most successful. It is a world that forces you to examine your own, and for that, I commend it.

4 out of 5 stars.

*Blurb by Goodreads.