Random Raving 6: (Desperate Post-Holiday Depression Edition): The Circle by Dave Eggers

I've finally finished all of my designated 'holiday-reading' (despite it being a good few weeks post-holiday – ah, the sadness)!

To top off my extremely varied holiday reading (covering zombies, sci-fi mysteries and senile old women) I read The Circle by Dave Eggers. I picked it up originally because of the bright red cover (I'm honestly like a child – anything fluorescent and shiny) but having read a little about it, I realised it's excatly the kind of book I'd want to read anyway.

The Circle is essentially a mildly-satirical exploration of the modern age of technology, information and the internal revolution, and it's potential development further down the line. The eponymous 'Circle' is the name of a technology company who revolutionises contemporary life by integrating all social media and electronic technology into one account allowing seamlessness is almost all aspects of life.

Eggers follows the career of Mae, a young graduate who joins The Circle with the help of her friend, Annie, a high-ranking executive in the company. As May gets dragged deeper and deeper into the philosophy and workings of The Circle, Eggers poses some extremely difficult questions about the future and the role of the internet. Should an all-encompassing internet account be used to police and enforce voting? Should electronic chips be used to track children so parents can know if they aren't where they're supposed to be? How much of a democratic state should be transparent? They're difficult questions, and I, for one, had any overwhelming feeling of revulsion at the increasingly penetrative ideals of The Circle.

I'd even say that the book has given me a new sense of apprehension about the potential pervasiveness of technology, and coming from a computer geek like me, that's really saying something. It's a great plot, and it's extremely well written – despite it's over 500 page length, it never drags at all.

Beyond the plot, the characters are interesting, if not ground-breaking. Mae perfectly plays the role of unwitting pawn and apprehensive new employee as she is taken down this path of difficult questions, and her journey is relatable, if difficult to watch (er... read?) at some points. By the end of the book it's really hard to recognise Mae, and that's a testament to just how well Eggers writes her journey. Supporting character Annie is perhaps the most the most intrinsically likeable, whilst potential love-interest Kalden offers an interesting counterbalance to the technology-focus of the rest of the novel. In all, the cast of characters feels well rounded and just about avoid being too 'typical'.

I was entirely unprepared for the conclusion. I thought I knew where it'd be going. I thought Mae's journey would spike off in a new direction, but Eggers plays a real curve ball. The real skill of the conclusion (perhaps not explicitly a twist) is that it's shocking but doesn't feel wrong. It fits the progression of the book and Mae's character, without being predictable. The few chapters before the finale also include another shocking (though in retrospect, relatively obvious) twist which starts to spiral towards the conclusion.

As things end, I was left wanting a sequel, but at the same time after seeing how far technology had integrated into people's lives by the end, I dread to think what a sequel might bring.

A fantastic read posing extremely difficult philosophical questions as we see the development of a malleable young woman through one of the most rapid periods of advancement in human history.

READ IT!

Writing: 7.5/10
Plot: 9/10
Characters 7.5/10
Conclusion: 10/10

Overall: 8.5/10