The Circle

By: Dave Eggers

Narrated by: Dion Graham

Length: 13 hrs and 42 mins

Publisher's summary

A bestselling dystopian novel that tackles surveillance, privacy and the frightening intrusions of technology in our lives—a “compulsively readable parable for the 21st century” (Vanity Fair).

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.

©2013 Dave Eggers (P)2013 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

“A vivid, roaring dissent to the companies that have coaxed us to disgorge every thought and action onto the Web . . . Carries the potential to change how the world views its addicted, compliant thrall to all things digital. If you work in Silicon Valley, or just care about what goes on there, you need to pay attention.” (Dennis K. Berman, The Wall Street Journal)

“The particular charm and power of Eggers’s book . . . could be described as ‘topical’ or ‘timely,’ though those pedestrian words do not nearly capture its imaginative vision . . . Simply a great story, with a fascinating protagonist, sharply drawn supporting characters and an exciting, unpredictable plot . . . As scary as the story’s implications will be to some readers, the reading experience is pure pleasure.” (Hugo Lindgren, The New York Times Magazine)

Terrifying look at a techno-destruction of privacy

[NOTE: Mild spoilers below.]

A terrifying look into a future where companies like Google and Facebook leverage the power of Big Data to obliterate privacy and track every minute aspect of our lives. The Circle is quite obviously a fictionalized portrayal of largely Google but with aspects of Facebook and Twitter thrown in. The ability of the company in the novel to destroy privacy and position itself to establish totalitarian control of our future is a bit of a stretch but not as much as you might think. The novel also gives a glimpse into the naivete of the millenials and other young people whose "progressive" thinking on information, collectivism and social interaction empower this risk to all of our privacy. The term used late in the book - infocommunism - perfectly summarizes the result of this dangerous lurch toward tracking, recording, monitoring, datafying and analyzing all aspects of our lives.

SOOO good!!

What made the experience of listening to The Circle the most enjoyable?

The story sucks you in. The main character was highly relatable to me. Social media is starting to take over the world, politics, and people's minds. Eggers is vivid and super descriptive, I felt like I was there. The complex relationships, sex, and the inner workings and details of the circle sucked me in. One of the best books I have ever read- or listened to. I want a sequel!!

What other book might you compare The Circle to and why?

1984

Have you listened to any of Dion Graham’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

The narrator was flawless. He could even play girls and had great voices for all the characters.

Any additional comments?

Get it!!

A most insightful book, the "1984" of this century

What did you love best about The Circle?

The insights into the purposes and harm being caused by the big internet companies (Google, Facebook, etc) are nothing short of profound and are very moving.

The author's insights into how big companies work also remind me of the book "The Organization Man" from the 1950s, and his fiction-based warnings of where we're so rapidly heading are both shocking and very well-written.

As someone who worked in R&D for a major multi-national company for his whole career, I found this books' insights to be very compelling and nearly overwhelming in both their accuracy and depth. Google is different from other companies, but not *that* different.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Mae Holland, the central character, is very convincing and illustrates how a big company can take a new employee and remake him/her in their own image. This process is similar in many respects to my own development working for my corporate employer - I retired a few years ago after a successful career.

What does Dion Graham bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

The narration was very effective in developing a better understanding of the book's content, much more so than a traditional text-based book format.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

SECRETS ARE LIES

SHARING IS CARING

PRIVACY IS THEFT

Any additional comments?

I can't recommend this book highly enough - it is must reading for everyone in these rapidly changing times. But where do we go from here, and how would we get there? It may already be too late to change direction.

Good concept, but...

...it made its point, over and over. Would have made a terrific short story or novella. The ending is predictable, even though the author seems to think it wouldn't be. But, hey: we've all read 1984!

75% of it is great

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

Yes, it was. The comparisson is obvious, but it felt like reading the new 1984. With a new language and modernized.

Would you be willing to try another book from Dave Eggers? Why or why not?

Sure, he sure knows how to tell a story.

Which character – as performed by Dion Graham – was your favorite?

Mae's father. He cracked me up.

Did The Circle inspire you to do anything?

Yes, stay away from facebook

Any additional comments?

The book loses itself a little towards the end. It seems like the author was in a rush to finish the last pages. And I know I'm new at the audiobooks world but it was hard to get used to a man imitating a woman's voice at the beginning.

Sharing is Caring, Oh My!

Any additional comments?

If spending your next precious reading time locked into a setting with over zealous utopian-istas who are also narcissistic twenty-something year olds (who you could't stand in high school or college) with unchecked power, and if you have no idea where that could lead, then by all means read the book. If you do have an idea where today's social media's smiley face and frowny face insistence on total transparency 'could' lead, your right; this book will be predicable, not a page turner, and will most likely make you sick to your stomach. If you've never read Orwell's 1984, or Atlas Shrugged, then this might be a book for you, although the characters in the Circle lack the quality and depth some of the characters had in the latter two. The dialogue in the circle is often repetitive and quite boring. Here are a few mantras the Circlers live by, and impose on others: 'Sharing is Caring', 'A Secret is a Lie', 'Privacy is Theft'.
They seem innocent enough right? I mean, at least to a five year old. There is a lot of five year old preachiness in this book.
George Carlin was once quoted in an interview. He said, "When fascism comes to America, it will not be in brown and black shirts. It will not be with jack-boots. It will be Nike sneakers and Smiley shirts. Smiley-smiley Fascism--Germany lost the Second World War. Fascism won't. Believe me, my friend". Let's hope he wrong.

Decent book...thought provoking at the very least

The book has its moments and is overall an interesting take on social media and the associated potential dangers. I couldn't stand the narration...good voice and consistency with different characters but his narrative cadence was ridiculous. His delivery is all flourish and melodrama--like the ringmaster at a circus--to the point of disrupting the story.

Wow... 1984, Brave New World, and Brazil

The book starts off slow and somewhat offputting. But then it begins to build. And then you realize it's like a lobster in a pot of cold water it's begun to boil... Fascinating ideas taken into- sadly- logical extremes and incredible analogies. Well worth reading.

Narrator not very good

I like the story, though I felt like the narrator made the women in the story all sound like valley girls. I feel like many of the sentences were taken out of context because he added a whiny girl voice (that apparently they all have). It was hard to get passed it. I ended up reading the book and only listening to the audio during my commute.

I enjoyed this one, but I wanted more.

This was a decent book. I was engaged while listening, but I kept waiting for more of a climax. I liked that the ending wasn't what I was expecting, but it was also kind of abrupt. Overall though, the ideas about the future of technolgy are fascinating and unsettling. I don't regret spending a credit on this. I got through it quickly.