Fiction

The Circle

The Circle

  • Downloads：3008
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-04-11 13:58:52
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Dave Eggers
  • ISBN：0345807294
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary

The Circle is the exhilarating new novel from Dave Eggers， best-selling author of A Hologram for the King， a finalist for the National Book Award。
 
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。

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Reviews

Whitney ，

Such a great book！！ This was the best book I've read in 2021！ Everyone should read this book。 Such a great book！！ This was the best book I've read in 2021！ Everyone should read this book。 。。。more

Jeruen ，

Oh， this was intense。 I knew this was a technothriller， but I didn't realise it would turn out to be a world where my worst nightmares have come true。 If you're particularly concerned about privacy， then perhaps this is a tough book to read。 And since I work in the data protection space， reading this book definitely kept me on the edge of my seat。 It definitely painted a world where all of the negative things I knew about that accompanied the lack of privacy were all highlighted and were in over Oh， this was intense。 I knew this was a technothriller， but I didn't realise it would turn out to be a world where my worst nightmares have come true。 If you're particularly concerned about privacy， then perhaps this is a tough book to read。 And since I work in the data protection space， reading this book definitely kept me on the edge of my seat。 It definitely painted a world where all of the negative things I knew about that accompanied the lack of privacy were all highlighted and were in overdrive。The novel begins with the character of Mae Holland getting a customer service job within a very technologically advanced company， the Circle。 It first feels like a very utopian place to be， yet slowly things become darker and darker， and Mae just gets sucked in completely。 As I was reading the book， I kept getting reminded of all the data breaches that I have been aware of， as well as the various tech companies we have， and I wonder how far away in the future would it be for this dystopia to be reality。The Circle， at least based on my impression， feels like Facebook， Google， and Amazon， all rolled into one。 It is the company that knows everything about you。 It has company slogans like Sharing is Caring， Secrets are Lies， and Privacy is Theft。 It is a company that is the anti-thesis of what I typically do for the majority of my waking life nowadays。 And as such， it is definitely a scary fictional world for me。Perhaps another reason why I found the book very disturbing was because the Circle as portrayed in the book felt like a cult。 As a cult survivor， I found plenty of similarities with the way of thinking and the brainwashing that cult members get from each other。 Cult members are typically told that the outside world is evil， that people who do not agree with you are bad， that you need everyone to fend off the bad elements that are lurking outside of the fold。 The employees of the Circle definitely acted like they were cult members， and dissent virtually doesn't exist within this organisation。 So yes， it reminded me of bad memories。 Nevertheless， I must say I enjoyed reading the book。I definitely hope that we don't end up in a world like that。 Unfortunately， I see actions of companies like Facebook and Google going to this direction， and I sure hope that the rest of the world realises that sharing everything isn't always a good thing。 Humans have the right to be left alone， and just because you are not doing anything wrong does not mean you have nothing to hide。 This book is fiction， I get it， yet I see aspects of today's reality that is going towards this direction， little by little。 I just hope that I am long gone by the time the real world becomes something like that。In any case， I obviously enjoyed this book， and recommend it to anyone interested in privacy。 I give it 5 out of 5 stars。See my other book reviews here。 。。。more

Shawna ，

I’m torn between 3。5 stars or 4 so I went ahead and rounded up because this was a very interesting story。 My anxiety was high reading this。 I can absolutely see how this could happen in our world today with all of the technology available。 I found myself torn with some ideas that would actually be very helpful in preventing crime， etc to freaking out how easy it would be for our world to become completely transparent。 No one would have any privacy of any kind。 Everything would be known。 Very sca I’m torn between 3。5 stars or 4 so I went ahead and rounded up because this was a very interesting story。 My anxiety was high reading this。 I can absolutely see how this could happen in our world today with all of the technology available。 I found myself torn with some ideas that would actually be very helpful in preventing crime， etc to freaking out how easy it would be for our world to become completely transparent。 No one would have any privacy of any kind。 Everything would be known。 Very scary 😦 。。。more

Aimee ，

This is a must-read。 Thought provoking， and intense。 I feel weird just writing a review of this， because it made me want to delete my social media completely。

booklovingsarah ，

3，5 ⭐️▪️makes you reflect on the way we use social media and the value we give it ▪️ didn’t feel like a real story， the message was too striking and should have been better woven into the story▪️easy， straight forward writing style that lets you fly through the story ▪️I’m a fan of endings like these （therefore the last half star）

Sandee ，

If you are required to be your real self on social media， there will be no more cyber-bullying， etc。 。。。well we now know *that's* not true。 That's the early concept in this novel， telling the story of Mae， who goes to work for a Facebook/Google-like entity and *loves* the kool-ade。 Written in 2013， the concepts already seem dated after the last presidency。 Still， the story was well written and enjoyable to listen to on a road trip。 Will Mae keep on drinking the kool ade or will she see the impli If you are required to be your real self on social media， there will be no more cyber-bullying， etc。 。。。well we now know *that's* not true。 That's the early concept in this novel， telling the story of Mae， who goes to work for a Facebook/Google-like entity and *loves* the kool-ade。 Written in 2013， the concepts already seem dated after the last presidency。 Still， the story was well written and enjoyable to listen to on a road trip。 Will Mae keep on drinking the kool ade or will she see the implications of one company to rule them all？ 。。。more

Alice ，

Disappointingly simplistic。 Halfway through I checked the covers to see if it was in fact a YA novel， as it was told in such broad crayon-strokes。 And I don't mind big， extreme ideas， but it was just so boring！ At least something like the Divergent series whips along with plenty of action; reading The Circle was like watching paint dry。 Disappointingly simplistic。 Halfway through I checked the covers to see if it was in fact a YA novel， as it was told in such broad crayon-strokes。 And I don't mind big， extreme ideas， but it was just so boring！ At least something like the Divergent series whips along with plenty of action; reading The Circle was like watching paint dry。 。。。more

Tere ，

Non sono riuscita a mollarlo fino alla fine。 Affascinante e pauroso。

John Saveland ，

The first half is prescient， subtle， and spot-on。 It nails the way social media creeps into your sense of self， and isolates you while immersing you in constant interpersonal engagement。 But it also drew some characters （micro-managing supervisors， guilting company leaders） so well they seemed familiar from my own life。Halfway through， it jumps from a slow-boiling insidiousness to breakneck thriller， and it didn't quite work for me。 But it's still an entertaining， consistently involving read。 It The first half is prescient， subtle， and spot-on。 It nails the way social media creeps into your sense of self， and isolates you while immersing you in constant interpersonal engagement。 But it also drew some characters （micro-managing supervisors， guilting company leaders） so well they seemed familiar from my own life。Halfway through， it jumps from a slow-boiling insidiousness to breakneck thriller， and it didn't quite work for me。 But it's still an entertaining， consistently involving read。 It's interesting to see how much has changed since then， how much misses the mark， and how many predictions were absolutely on the money。 。。。more

Emma ，

Absolutely tore through the first half， but then it slowed down a bit too much for me。 Overall still a very good， albeit terrifying， story。

Alice ，

This was an audio-book for me。 I don't think I would have finished it if I'd been reading it。 Parts of it ramble on and on。 This was an audio-book for me。 I don't think I would have finished it if I'd been reading it。 Parts of it ramble on and on。 。。。more

Christopher M。 ，

Excellent example of a classic dystopian novel。 I remember not having a chance to read the book when it first came out in 2013。 I'm glad I waited， since the comparison between The Circle and Google is now even more pronounced。In 2018， Google removed its longstanding motto: Don't be evil。 Wonder why？ Could it be the active suppression of civil liberties and the desire for global control of information。 They have become nothing but evil。 Excellent example of a classic dystopian novel。 I remember not having a chance to read the book when it first came out in 2013。 I'm glad I waited， since the comparison between The Circle and Google is now even more pronounced。In 2018， Google removed its longstanding motto: Don't be evil。 Wonder why？ Could it be the active suppression of civil liberties and the desire for global control of information。 They have become nothing but evil。 。。。more

Helen ，

Alright。 No more dystopian fiction for me please。 I was really curious about this book after seeing the film （yes， I committed one of the big sins but in my defence I didn’t realise it was based on a novel！） and also because I wondered if the TV show The Circle （which I’m dying to be on！） had come from the novel in the same way that Big Brother had come from 1984。 I never really got the answer to that one， but what I did get was quite frightened。I know， huge irony that I’m using social media - e Alright。 No more dystopian fiction for me please。 I was really curious about this book after seeing the film （yes， I committed one of the big sins but in my defence I didn’t realise it was based on a novel！） and also because I wondered if the TV show The Circle （which I’m dying to be on！） had come from the novel in the same way that Big Brother had come from 1984。 I never really got the answer to that one， but what I did get was quite frightened。I know， huge irony that I’m using social media - essentially the downfall of humanity in this novel - to post a review about this but it really was quite scary。 Eggers is also very clever in not including chapters into this - by making the narrative continuous you get the same sort of impression and feeling of bombardment that Mae gets from the constant Zings， CE requests and surveys。 It forced you to keep going - essentially like the Circle forces her to keep going - to the point where I felt burnt out。 But it is really weird to see how much of it correlates to the real world。 I know I have GoodReads but I don’t have any other social media， and that has definitely lead to some serious FOMO - especially when all around you， everyone else is merrily posting away。 I also think back to when I was a teenager， not too long ago， and how SMS was the new and amazing and radical - even though you only had 200 characters。Definitely makes me afraid for the future， but a brilliant read if you also liked Orwell and Huxley！ 。。。more

Sadie ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 The writing was good。 That’s it。 Mae had character development in the wrong direction and I feel like the circles ideals made it too hard for the book to be enjoyable because Mae did absolutely nothing to stop them and rebel。

Jake ，

The Times has said The Circle is unputdownable。 I have to agree。 It is devided in three books and even though the first one is the best written and most interesting one to me， the story in its entirety charmed me。 I found it very interesting to follow the protagonist on her journey as she started her new job at The Circle and I was terrified to follow her rapid manipulation into their way of living and thinking。 However， I have to say that at multiple times I thought it unlikely how fast she wou The Times has said The Circle is unputdownable。 I have to agree。 It is devided in three books and even though the first one is the best written and most interesting one to me， the story in its entirety charmed me。 I found it very interesting to follow the protagonist on her journey as she started her new job at The Circle and I was terrified to follow her rapid manipulation into their way of living and thinking。 However， I have to say that at multiple times I thought it unlikely how fast she would change her morals， but that could only be my greenness。 This book is highly relevant to today's circumstances concerning our social media consumerism and the evolution of the internet and what we as human beings still strive to achieve in that field。 Reading this has opened my eyes to my own habits， routines and ideals。 It is sometimes scary to find oneself in this book， and yet very important！ The ending containing many twists leaves the reader unsure of what is now the right ending up to the very last sentences。 Very nicely done， nevertheless I was disappointed by the ending。 That's just my taste， though。 All in all I can recommend this book to everyone， even though you don't like sci-fi， because neither do I， but I enjoyed The Circle very much！ 。。。more

C B ，

A naive and thinly veiled parody of the big tech shops - Google and Facebook， the book picks on the lack of privacy， but lacks Orwell poignancy。 Young Mae - poor young thing - is more naive than a 3 days old chick。The movie made recently of this book is even worse， and even Emma Watson and Tom Hanks cannot lift it out of its misery。。。。It is a pity， because the topic deserve attention。

Mitch ，

4。0 StarsYes， it's as subtle as a sledgehammer but I think the addicting prose and some genuinely creepy and uncomfortable scenarios （This book basically envisions an introvert's absolute worst nightmare） made me enjoy it more than I probably should have。 4。0 StarsYes， it's as subtle as a sledgehammer but I think the addicting prose and some genuinely creepy and uncomfortable scenarios （This book basically envisions an introvert's absolute worst nightmare） made me enjoy it more than I probably should have。 。。。more

Ashley Zizich ，

Ok， it took a while for me to get into this book。 Just when I was about to put it down for a while， it got interesting。 Really interesting。 It was eerily simple to understand the inner workings of what this book was trying to convey about the dangers of social media and tracking everything you do online。 The climax was so good， and then。。。。 the ending just ruined it 😒。 It was so flat that it didn't even feel like an ending。 I had to go back and read the last few paragraphs again to make sure I d Ok， it took a while for me to get into this book。 Just when I was about to put it down for a while， it got interesting。 Really interesting。 It was eerily simple to understand the inner workings of what this book was trying to convey about the dangers of social media and tracking everything you do online。 The climax was so good， and then。。。。 the ending just ruined it 😒。 It was so flat that it didn't even feel like an ending。 I had to go back and read the last few paragraphs again to make sure I didn't miss anything。 I found this extremely relevant in today's society with the social media aspect， but damn， that ending could have been a bit more resolute。 。。。more

Udai ，

this was a very slow burner that led to a very disappointing climax。 But the writing isn't bad。 must write a fuller review later。 this was a very slow burner that led to a very disappointing climax。 But the writing isn't bad。 must write a fuller review later。 。。。more

Florence Doval ，

This book was so dumb！ The allegory or whatever felt so obvious。 Like， “what if our constant surveillance by mega corporations is bad， actually？” No duh！！！ I’ve never read any other Dave Eggers before but I would bet that this is the first time he’s written a female protagonist too。 Mae’s perspective felt really。。。 weird。 Every time this supposedly straight woman went to the doctor and internally monologued about her doctor’s boobs I was just like。。。 ok yeah no。 The first time was weird， the sec This book was so dumb！ The allegory or whatever felt so obvious。 Like， “what if our constant surveillance by mega corporations is bad， actually？” No duh！！！ I’ve never read any other Dave Eggers before but I would bet that this is the first time he’s written a female protagonist too。 Mae’s perspective felt really。。。 weird。 Every time this supposedly straight woman went to the doctor and internally monologued about her doctor’s boobs I was just like。。。 ok yeah no。 The first time was weird， the second time I absolutely wanted to call the horny police on this guy。 I’m trying to think of one thing I liked about this book， and I cannot。 That in and of itself is a rare achievement I guess！ 。。。more

Ebru Çökmez ，

“ SIR YANILTIR。 MAHREMİYET HIRSIZLIKTIR。 SEVEN İNSAN PAYLAŞIR。” Çember’in sloganları bunlar。 “Çember”， ABD’li yazar Dave Eggers’ın yazdığı 2013 tarihli distopik bir roman。 Internet’teki arama motorlarının ve sosyal medyanın %90’ına hükmeden küresel bir şirket olan Çember’in， herkesin birbirinin ve herşeyin seyircisi， takipçisi olduğu bir sistemi nasıl tesis ettiğini anlatıyor。 Kitabın kurgusal olgunluk ve fikri derinlik açısından Huxley - Cesur Yeni Dünya， Orwell -1984， Zamyatin-Biz ile birlikte “ SIR YANILTIR。 MAHREMİYET HIRSIZLIKTIR。 SEVEN İNSAN PAYLAŞIR。” Çember’in sloganları bunlar。 “Çember”， ABD’li yazar Dave Eggers’ın yazdığı 2013 tarihli distopik bir roman。 Internet’teki arama motorlarının ve sosyal medyanın %90’ına hükmeden küresel bir şirket olan Çember’in， herkesin birbirinin ve herşeyin seyircisi， takipçisi olduğu bir sistemi nasıl tesis ettiğini anlatıyor。 Kitabın kurgusal olgunluk ve fikri derinlik açısından Huxley - Cesur Yeni Dünya， Orwell -1984， Zamyatin-Biz ile birlikte anılamayacağını düşünüyorum elbette。 Ancak， sosyal medya ve internet her türlü yaşamsal faaliyetimize bu kadar bulaşmışken kitapta kurgusal olarak öngörülen yakın geleceğin tedirgin edici olduğunu itiraf etmeliyim。 。。。more

Thuy Pham ，

Quite of a good book with a nice hook followed by a futuristic touch of dark ending for humankind。 I can feel the cold reflection of reality in the eyes of the author。 And remember how Mea was transformed seamlessly by particular life circumstances。 Funny that what was happened seems logical yet unbelievable at the same time， perhaps it's how life unfolds us all。 Quite of a good book with a nice hook followed by a futuristic touch of dark ending for humankind。 I can feel the cold reflection of reality in the eyes of the author。 And remember how Mea was transformed seamlessly by particular life circumstances。 Funny that what was happened seems logical yet unbelievable at the same time， perhaps it's how life unfolds us all。 。。。more

Eric Susak ，

If you want to feel anxious for no reason due to the accumulation of numbers and knowledge and social media posts and watchful eyes and the slow erosion of anything that makes you human， read this book。 Eggers does a fantastic job throwing the detritus of the digital world onto the page。 However， where he succeeds in world building， he fails in imagination。The topic of overarching technology and Big Brother has been stagnant for decades， and The Circle doesn't really offer anything new。 Of cours If you want to feel anxious for no reason due to the accumulation of numbers and knowledge and social media posts and watchful eyes and the slow erosion of anything that makes you human， read this book。 Eggers does a fantastic job throwing the detritus of the digital world onto the page。 However， where he succeeds in world building， he fails in imagination。The topic of overarching technology and Big Brother has been stagnant for decades， and The Circle doesn't really offer anything new。 Of course we opt into all these cool pieces of computer magic。 Of course we get carried away with consuming information。 Of course there are people in powerful places that want to control it all。 But where is the subversion？ Where's the subversion of the typical subversion？ 。。。more

Ken Barrett ，

Frightening Well written with complex characters， and worth a read even though the story is so troubling。 It also speaks to the ignorance of the modern youth， believing that true democracy is the ultimate form of government。 It isn’t。 Plato referred to it as mob rule and considered it one short step above anarchy。 A mob is easily manipulated by tyrants。 It’s a very dangerous path that I hope our society never takes。 Let’s continue to live as free people， with privacy and dignity， ok？

Hannah ，

Foucault would love this book

Isha ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 It offers quite a debate on making all information about everyone and everything accessible to everyone， thereby eliminating the concept of privacy。 What I liked about the book was its undertone。 Seemingly supporting the idea of no privacy， it was in fact mocking it， at the same time， making me realise how incredulous it is。 The concept presented in the book is though provoking indeed。 However， the plot is not as well construed， given that i guessed the ending and the identity of the mysterious It offers quite a debate on making all information about everyone and everything accessible to everyone， thereby eliminating the concept of privacy。 What I liked about the book was its undertone。 Seemingly supporting the idea of no privacy， it was in fact mocking it， at the same time， making me realise how incredulous it is。 The concept presented in the book is though provoking indeed。 However， the plot is not as well construed， given that i guessed the ending and the identity of the mysterious Kalden。 I mean it was obvious he was Ty all along。 And that he was scared of what he had created and now wanted an escape。 The protagonist， Mae is foolish and there is no character development for store in her。 She makes stupid choices and goes along with the flow， not thinking of the consequences of her actions。 So much so that， at the end she is estranged from her parents， grieving over the death of a friend and the coma of another。。。 all indirectly or directly induced by her。 。。。more

Sophie ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Gute Idee， die Story lässt aber stark nach und verliert sich am Ende einfach。

Valerie ，

I think it’s obvious that I’m no academic BUT if I were， I’d pain myself to write a detailed analysis about how this is a weird attempt at modernizing Orwell’s 1984 （my favorite book） – right down to parallel mantras of Big Brother （war is peace， freedom is slavery， ignorance is strength） vs。 The Circle （secrets are lies， sharing is caring， privacy is theft）。 Didn’t love this book and can’t recommend it over Orwell's。 I think it’s obvious that I’m no academic BUT if I were， I’d pain myself to write a detailed analysis about how this is a weird attempt at modernizing Orwell’s 1984 （my favorite book） – right down to parallel mantras of Big Brother （war is peace， freedom is slavery， ignorance is strength） vs。 The Circle （secrets are lies， sharing is caring， privacy is theft）。 Didn’t love this book and can’t recommend it over Orwell's。 。。。more

Charlie ，

Such a gripping and awfully timely， real story。The protagonist， Mae is a very complex character。 The author takes you on a shocking journey to see her change and ultimately get brainwashed throughout the novel。I do have to criticize the middle being dragged out making the end seem rushed。 But overall definitely worth a read ！

Avery Hasch ，

I really enjoyed this book。 Seemed kind of slow， at first。 Wish the ending was different or that there was a sequel！

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Circle

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Circle&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,The Circle&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0