The Circle by Dave Eggers

Genre: Realistic Fiction
Publication Date: 2013

Synopsis:
The Circle follows the life of Mae Holland and her life after she joins the biggest internet company in the country, The Circle. The Circle has a sprawling campus filled with business offices, eating areas, recreation areas, relaxation areas, party venues, and even dorms for people to use. The Circle's big draw and success is making a person's online presence all in one place. Now people have one username, one account for all services, and everything is tied to that one account. It has brought order and ease to using the internet. Mae soon becomes entrenched in her work and in the various activities provided and encouraged by the company. The company values social media posts as much as a person's actual work performance. This leaves less and less time for the outside real world in Mae's life. The Circle begins to branch out and push through boundaries that make the reader question the morality of the company and it's leaders. Mae seems to be falling down the rabbit hole that is the Circle, and readers are interested to see where it leaders her in the end.

Review:
This is one of the most interesting and compellingly realistic books that I have read in a long time. The circle is loosely based on Google and the way that it runs it's company as well. As I was reading I was wary of the way that the workers and leaders of the Circle pushed its employees to be a social media presence and to participate and share everything in their lives. This book scared me in a way that a horror book cannot, it's so realistic. Everyday something new in technology is released and laws are changed, the internet changes, etc. and its those aspects that are the most intriguing about this book. Mae quickly gets lost in her social media presence and loses her friends and family on the way, but that didn't seem to bother her so much once she had success at her job. As I was reading this I felt that I totally understood Mae's problem even though she can't really see it herself. She is so busy living in a virtual world and gaining "likes" that she loses sense of reality and what the outside world is really like. The leaders of the Circle push the boundaries and for the most part they are able to do so easily, because they have created a generation of people that want that type of life. The people who do not want to live online or have a deeply rooted social media presence are mocked and forced to decide to join or work against the Circle. It creates a deep divide between Mae and her family and old friends. This book outlines exactly what is so dangerous about social media; people caring more about how many "likes" their post or pictures got, rather than caring about the world and its issues. I fear that this is a good predictor of how our society will end up in the future. I hope that is not the case.

5/5 Stars


Movie Review:
I was excited to see this movie was starring Tom Hanks and Emma Watson, two of my favorite actors. The movie itself tries to convey the conflicting emotions and moral battles that Mae goes through in the novel, but its difficult to portray those things on film. The movie and the book also have different endings which was disappointing as well. Overall, it was a well-made movie, but I prefer the novel.