The Circle: A 1984 for Our Time

Review by Dan Geddes

The Circle, Dave Eggers’ novel named for a fictitious Google-like company that profits from its users’ data and destroys individual privacy, is a topical and compelling read. The story takes place in a near-future Silicon Valley where cheap video cameras are being deployed nearly everywhere, even in nature. Doctors place cameras in people’s houses to monitor their condition. People are even starting to go “transparent”; to wear a Circle-built device on a necklace that records everything they see and do and broadcasts it via the internet — sort of like Google Glass is supposed to be.

Politicians go “transparent” to show their honesty. You can almost see the appeal of such a transparent society. Maybe everybody would be on their best behavior. The fact that this scenario seems both inevitable and nightmarish explains the topical appeal of this book. If nothing is as powerful as an idea whose time has come, this is a book whose time has come.

Working at the Circle seems utopian to the protagonist, Mae Holland, 24. (“My God, Mae thought. It’s heaven.” is the opening line.) She is thrilled to be working at one of the best and coolest companies in America. She hopes to climb the corporate ladder. She owes her job to her college roommate, Annie, who has risen quickly through the ranks to become one of the “Gang of 40,” the…