I promise after this post that I will stop talking about how
busy my summer has been. For a while there, I wasn’t reading before bed like I
usually do. One day, my mom put The
Circle by Dave Eggers on my bookshelf, and I brought it to a shift where I
knew I had some time to read. I ended up reading it in four sittings. The
Circle is a company that is all about connection and social media and
engagement. You know how Google is supposed to be the best place in the world
to work? Well, this company is like that. They even have nap rooms. Mae starts
her work there and falls in love with the way the company is run. It seems like
a positive atmosphere with unlimited resources (don’t even get me started about
their amazing library). The Circle is forward thinking and constantly changing.
New people are always brought in and all treated with the utmost respect and
care. Everyone is a visionary and takes inspiration from each other. Mae
becomes the centre of The Circle’s latest technology and skyrockets in
popularity all over the world. As The Circle reaches “completion,” Mae starts
having anxiety issues about alienating her family and cutting ties to past
relationships. This novel creates a powerful message about the impacts of
expansion and growing technology in today’s world.
There was a lot I liked and a lot I didn’t like about this
novel. Eggers does a fantastic job at giving relevant background on the
characters. The descriptions build up a distinct voice for each character that
is consistent throughout the novel. Eggers is talented at conversational text
and highlighting things like natural human awkwardness. The bits of romance
interspersed in the novel were seamlessly integrated, so it wasn’t unwanted in
context (that means a lot coming from me). I really grew to love or hate
certain characters. I was so unsure of Mae the whole time and ended up losing
all my respect for her. Kalden (love interest) was a love/hate character but
Mercer (ex) was my absolute favourite. The latter characters provided a
refreshing opposition to the blind acceptance coming from the rest of the
characters. The contrast of the opposition is blatant in this novel, so Kalden
and Mercer were brilliant characters in that sense. The ending to this novel,
to me, was completely unpredictable. The fast-paced text made for an easy book
to read, but of course, there are certain things that I did not like.
I ended up questioning so much about The Circle and their
intentions from the beginning. Their code names and exclusivity laid out a
creepy feeling that hung there throughout the text. The way they can track
everyone in the world made me uneasy. The problem solving techniques involved a
lot of making an example out of people and talking down to people. It was a
complete contrast to the respect that was previously paid to employees. The
Circle forces engagement with on-site activities and inter-company relations.
You forge to reply to a message? Too bad – that person now hates you. Everyone
is willing to follow everything a leader says because they have all the power
to make it the next big thing. There is no space to explore your own personal
hobbies because it must be shared with anyone else. There’s no space to be
yourself. You can see how that’s problematic.
The thing is, this book made me think. My mom told me she
hated it because it goes against everything she has ever told me and my sister
about regarding social media. There was this whole political aspect about being
transparent, but I don’t see that as a good thing. I don’t want people to know
what I’m doing at every point of my day. Sometimes, I have bad days where I am
a passive member of society and watch Netflix all day. I choose not to expose
that on social media because no one needs to see that. Personal time is
important and I don’t care who you are, but you need it! Mae ends up becoming
controlled and self-centered and isn’t that what happens to us? We want more
likes on Facebook, more followers on Instagram and more views on our blog. I
felt so sorry for Mae because she needs constant validation and the sad thing
is, I can see that same characteristic in myself. There’s a point to be made
about accountability. If we are being watched all the time, would it make people
less likely to commit crimes? Sure. It will also make for less genuine moments.
The best message in novel comes at the end. The ending is open-ended. There are
pieces missing from the story. The ending is a direct reflection on how we all
approach social media. The question turns to you – do you need to know the
ending or can you be content with the way it is?
I give this book 4/5 stars. It was almost a 5, but there was
just too much about it that made my stomach turn. Have you read this book?
Comment below and tell me if you have or if you will read it after this.
-Daniella
P.S. I just found out that they’re adapting it to movie form
starring Tom Hanks and Emma Watson!
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