The Circle Paperback – Large Print, December 15, 2015

The Circle, an anti-utopia novel, by Dave Eggers stresses the dangers associated with the advancement of technology. It’s similar to the novel 1984 with many of its slogans and ideas associated with the future of technology. The Circle follows Mae Holland, a 24 year old woman, who has begun working at a world renowned technology company known as The Circle. The Circle has offices all over the globe and hires hundreds of inventive minds every week. Quickly, it’s progressing into a tech savvy world of its own that is taking over the real world. Working at The Circle is quite an achievement, and Mae’s parents are proud of her. They’re even more proud of her friend Annie who got Mae this job. Annie becomes Mae’s mentor in The Circle and helps her. However, their friendship becomes distant because of Mae’s increasing popularity. The utopia at The Circle seems flawed in many aspects, and many reviewers claim that the modern world turning into The Circle is a ridiculous notion. However, is it actually as ridiculous as it sounds? Many technological advances that weren’t known to be possible are possible today. The technological advances of phones, social media, television, etc. were not thought to be possible. So why is it so ridiculous to assume that there could be a world controlled by technology? Technology already controls some aspect of our day, whether it’s for school, work, or entertainment. Technology has a hold on us.When Mae tries to fit into the Circle, she’s fascinated by the advancements. However, in the beginning she gets in trouble for not attending social events in The Circle and her lack of online presence on social media. This causes quite the distress in the office. But slowly she begins to go deeper into technology as she’s pressured into things at The Circle. She begins to take advantage of the latest gadgets, the parties, the new “beneficial” innovative ideas, medical care, a place to stay, etc. A character named Kalden appears to help Mae. However, Will he be able to save her? This is the question that hangs with the reader throughout the book. Overall, I absolutely loved this book. The Circle is fast paced which makes it an enjoyable read, I read this book in three days because it was so interesting. There were many cliffhangers that made me want to continue my reading. I liked how it was more modern than 1984 which made it easier to follow along for teenagers like myself. It also connected to me more because of how similar the main character was to me. Mae became influenced by the people around her and took part in something that would affect the whole world. As teenagers, we also tend to give into peer pressure, and it’s hard to come out of it. Whether its drugs, social media, clothes, etc. We care about what other people think of us, so we give into peer pressure. Many reviewers call Mae dumb for making these choices, but she’s only 24. Brains take 25 years to develop. I think of her as a teenager like myself, and many teenagers make unwise decisions. Many of her actions portrayed in The Circle can be interpreted as childish. And sometimes it’s hard to choose a path that others chose do not take, even for adults. In this sense, I think the novel reaches out to teenagers more than adults.Spoilers Below: Proceed with Caution Technology causes Mae to become paranoid at first with cameras watching her and people seeing her. She was mad when she found out that nothing could be deleted. But later she quit trying and gave into the technology. This is what I fear. Right now, many of us are paranoid by the cameras on our laptops and phones and we try to cover them with things like sticky notes. But what if we just stop caring? As the world progresses, people are becoming more comfortable with revealing their bodies in public and on social media. And in The Circle when Francis records Mae in a sexual act and later Mae records her parents, one of the most important privacy of one’s self is invaded. This is something that I can see happening in the future.As I read this book, I felt helpless. I wanted something to save Mae, but she only became more hypnotized with the technology. Towards the end, I kept waiting for Kalden to show up to save Mae. As Mae started to forget about Kalden, slowly the book did too. BIG SPOILER: Kalden didn’t save Mae. The ending was something I didn’t expect, however, and I was angry about it. But reflecting on the ending, it makes sense as to why Egger did it. Realistically, there are no happy endings in life, and this ending is supposed to reflect the future with chaos. However, I still like to imagine a place that Mae and Kalden created by destroying The Circle. I felt like The Circle is focused closely to this generation, especially since it was written in 2013. And The Circle should be a book that everyone puts on their list. I felt a special connection to it because the similarities were so scary to the modern world.

The Circle happens to be one of many different works of fiction of Dave Eggers which follows on the pattern of some highly loved and successful novels. Dave Eggers appears as an incredibly intelligent author as he foreshadows the role of social media in our present lives through his creation of the Circle.The novel starts of on a bright sunny day as Mae Holland gets hired and tours the campus on her first day of work at the Circle. The Circle is the leading company in the world of technological advances and the use of surveillance and privacy. As Mae continues her first week at the Circle it represents many ups and downs. Mae meets a new love interest named Francis Garaventa who she doesn’t know how she truly feels about. Early on Mae gets in trouble several times from her supervisor over leaving campus to visit her parents or keeping her personal interests to herself. As this occurs Mae becomes a tad bit skeptical. She then meets a second love interest named Kalden who happens to be extremely mysterious.In Mae’s world “secrets are lies, sharing is caring, and privacy is theft”. This is a world where your every step and thought is watched. Francis attempts multiple times to expose Mae and show her privacy is not a good concept. Francis even goes as far as recording their sexual interaction and uploading it to the company’s server. Despite her anger towards Francis the pressures of the Circle soon have her convinced that privacy is wrong and she must get rid of it. Mae eventually gets tired of the Circle and needs a quick break so she attempts to steal a Kayak and get out into the water. She returns the next morning to realize everyone has already been aware of her late night outing. Eamon Bailey one of the Three Wise Men soon announces Mae is going transparent and must wear a camera at all times and every aspect of her life will be recorded and available to everyone. At this point in the novel Mae has lost her own voice and a sense to herself. She has been altered by the Circle and now unrecognizable by her own family and friends.Mae suggests that the Circle should take over all the recordkeeping related to voting and registration in America. She is sure that this will help create a better society and bring in a pure and transparent form of government. Kalden and Mercer (her old boyfriend) seem to think the Circle has brainwashed Mae into thinking privacy is not needed and having everything in the open is a good thing.A powerful moment in the book happens to arise when Mercer flees from the Circle and drives his pickup truck off a steep mountain ultimately choosing death over being part of the Circle and having no privacy. This strongly depicts how Mae definitely was brainwashed and ultimately not strong enough to fight against the Circle and realizing its true purpose whereas Mercer was.Mae discovers Kalden’s true identity as Ty one of the Three Wise Men and the man who created the Circle’s first technology. Ty asks Mae for her help to take down the Circle and close it for good. Mae is so far brainwashed that she exposes Ty’s plan and ruins his chance at destroying the Circle and there's no one left who would help create its downfall.In all Mae is essentially stuck in a world where everyone knows everything about each other and there is no sense of privacy. The book was an overall an excellent and page turning book keeping the audience engaged. Eggers used incredible words and foreshadows the problem of social media to a great extent. I would highly recommend this book to other readers.

Pura ficção ou prenúncio de um futuro em que todos os aspectos da vida pessoal serão devassáveis ?

Una joya de la literatura americana, un libro de ? ficción?

A rip-roaring bore. What a disappointment.

Fascinating and timely concept. Some weaknesses on craft. Still a worthy read.Our online lives are taking over, and Eggers recreates the potential nightmare scenario quite well, with The Circle posing as a Google/Facebook. The main character, Mae, is a ghost with character traits tagged on like ornaments on a Christmas tree. She is the cheerleader for The Circle, which is moving toward having everyone live 'transparently,' meaning living on camera for the world to see. She lusts after Kalden, a mysterious co-worker who has access to the company's inner sanctum. As The Circle reaches 'completion' (everyone in the world with an account) Kalden tries to convince Mae of the dangers. But she'll have none of it.It's an interesting (and challenging) choice to have a protagonist we gradual stop rooting for and become convinced is evil. I enjoyed the pace and found the story gripping.However, promises of resonance aren't delivered. One more re-write and a stronger editorial hand might have got it there. What I'd like to see here is deeper insights into what our online lives mean; the pros and cons. Instead we get a 'what if' that certainly is nightmarish, and in some ways believable, but sheds little light on the struggle.Point of view changes are mis-handled and so occasional it's irking. I'm surprised editing didn't catch them.

Desde siempre he disfrutado paseando por una biblioteca o una librería, mirando los estantes hasta descubrir un libro que llamase mi atención para llevarme a casa. Ahora, con Amazon, intento hacer algo parecido y así descubrí este libro, totalmente por casualidad. Sin ningún tipo de expectativa el libro me resultó muy fresco, lleva la trama muy bien y presenta los personajes y su crecimiento estupendamente.Es un libro que recomendaría a todo el mundo