Title: The Circle
Author: Dave Eggers
Outline: Mae Holland gets a lucky break and begins working at powerful tech company, the Circle. It is essentially Apple, Google and Facebook in one giant multinational organisation; in this world they have all been subsumed by the Circle. It is initially presented as the dream job and she settles into life on the elaborate and technologically advanced campus. However, as she becomes more involved, devoting more aspects of her life to her job and making a name for herself, a more sinister side to the Circle begins to arise. Its ethos is increasingly centred on the idea that privacy is a dangerous thing and Mae herself becomes one of their main disciples.
Highlights: Amidst the bleakness and ‘black tears’ of her world the reader is shown moments of genuine beauty and perceptiveness. These occur when Mae goes kayaking on the bay; Eggers presents the tranquillity of nature in a way that almost feels like it might drag Mae back to the real world. Also, her increasing involvement and celebrity status within the circle results in her becoming more distanced from her family and friends, eventually leading to a tragic climax. The dialogue is often purposefully uncomfortable to read because the characters appear so genuine and Eggers provides no context or exposition. In some cases the other members of the circle are offended by Mae’s inability to reply to the countless requests and messages sent her way on her multiple screens; to the reader this may be unreasonable but it presents an idea of the power of social media over people’s lives in Mae’s world. Then there is also the chilling, open ended final paragraph which brings the whole satire together.
Why I read it: Honestly, I picked it up because it had a snazzy cover (I mean, look at it) and it was face up on a table of books that Waterstones obviously thought were worth reading. Realising what is was all about, however, began to pique my interest. I love dystopian books and especially ones written in a satirical tone. I’m fascinated by other people’s views of a potential future world. I think science fiction is important because of this; in observing and contemplating an alternate world we can hope and make sure that it stays as just that.
Rating: 8/10 – Eggers’ prose won’t be to everyone’s liking and overall it would be a stretch to say this is a modern day Nineteen Eighty-Four. I don’t think it is trying to be political or cautionary, anyway. Nonetheless it is a very entertaining read and as well as this the symbolism of the book translates genuinely concerning ideas about freedom, privacy and the abuse of technology. Eggers is not subtle in his farcical representation of these brainwashed characters and the Circle’s increasingly invasive technology, but it is done well. On reading the closing pages, I chuckled; the idea presented there is would be absurd but that someone would have the same logic is not so farfetched…
Words by Tim Goodfellow