Book of the Week

The Circle by Dave Eggers 
Reviewed by Mr Copeman

The eponymous corporation in Dave Eggers’ dystopian novel is a thinly veiled amalgamation of Google and Facebook, two companies described by The Guardian this week as ‘the most powerful and secretive empires we’ve ever known.’

First published in 2013, Eggers’ prescient novel portrays a social media obsessed world; a scenario which requires little imagination today.

Eggers satirises the internet age through his portrayal of the hip, all-powerful Californian technology company, the Circle. Seduced by the glitzy campus, Mae, a fresh faced graduate who has recently joined the Circle, believes she has landed on her feet. Intoxicated by the power and opportunities available at the Circle, Mae at first proves a loyal acolyte, buying into the company’s central principle that privacy is selfish.

Much like Google’s symbolic statue of a T-Rex, the Circle’s outwardly avant-garde image conceals a sinister message to its employees: do not allow the company to become extinct. As such, the controlling, shadowy figures running the Circle impose ever increasing demands and expectations on Mae to extend her online profile with ‘zings’, ‘smiles’ and ‘shares’. The cultish, all-encompassing atmosphere of the Circle swiftly proves asphyxiating as Mae finds herself unable to escape the organisation’s ravenous desire to control all aspects of society through their online dominance.

The oft-levelled criticism that social media is leading to an increasingly narcissistic society is explored through Eggers’ excoriating depiction of Mae’s colleagues as being easily-offended, emotionally brittle and unable to accept criticism as they seek refuge with like-minded souls in their social media echo chambers. The novel’s deliberate references to the working practices of many current major technology firms adds to the unsettling notion that our privacy is being insidiously eroded.

Compelling and darkly humorous, The Circle is fundamentally a timely novel of Orwellian proportions which will make you revaluate your online behaviour and social media presence.