The Circle by Dave Eggers is a dystopian novel set in the near future, where a powerful tech company called The Circle creates a world of total transparency and surveillance. The story follows Mae Holland, a new employee at The Circle, who becomes immersed in the company's vision of connectivity and openness. As Mae rises through the ranks, she begins to question the dark side of the company's mission and the implications of sacrificing privacy for the sake of progress. The narrative explores themes of technology, social media, privacy, and the consequences of a society driven by constant connectivity and information sharing.
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Sensitive Topics/Content Warnings
Content warnings for The Circle include themes of suicide, mental health issues, and the pervasive nature of surveillance which may be distressing to some readers.
From The Publisher:
A bestselling dystopian novel that tackles surveillance, privacy and the frightening intrusions of technology in our lives-a "compulsively readable parable for the 21st century" (Vanity Fair).
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 the world-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.
Ratings (36)
Incredible (4) | |
Loved It (12) | |
Liked It (5) | |
It Was OK (8) | |
Did Not Like (4) | |
Hated It (3) |
Reader Stats (67):
Read It (41) | |
Want To Read (20) | |
Did Not Finish (1) | |
Not Interested (5) |
4 comment(s)
To be brief, I feel like this would have made a brilliant short story. As it is I'm about 75% through the book and the plans the Circle organization come up with get more and more elaborate and ludicrous; I keep waiting for the tide to finally turn but the end to the insanity is indeterminable. An interesting read but it tends to meander.
The main character is also something of a blank slate to me. I keep wishing the book was about Annie instead of Mae.
Es una novela que me ha parecido extraña, no avanza como lo esperas puesto que aunque todo el tiempo van pasando cosas, por separado no son relevantes en casi todos los casos.
La base de la historia ha logrado por momentos ponerme hasta nervioso, con unos personajes consecuentes con dicha base y, aunque por momentos parecen hasta artificiales, eso ayuda a mejorar la atmósfera.
Solo me queda decir que el final es un poco anticlimático, y sorprende precisamente por ser un final lógico.
Daaaaamn...
Could have been so much better. The author does a good job of describing and setting up the plot. However none of the good stuff happened until the last 50 pages. The author skimps out on a great story, a lot of it is just brushed over.
What can you read after
The Circle?
About the Author:
DAVE EGGERS is the author of many books, among them The Circle-the companion to the book you are holding-and also The Monk of Mokha, A Hologram for the King, What Is the What, and The Museum of Rain. He is the…
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