The Circle

By: Dave Eggers

Narrated by: Dion Graham

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.

Good premise but don't be sucked in, it gets dumb

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

Graham's reading is brave. He inserts a great deal more subjective interpretation than customary into not only line readings but narration as well. Many times his inflections add nuances to the text that the author may or may not have intended. I think this was the right choice though, as fortunately his instincts are usually very good, and so the performance adds a lot to the so-so writing.

Any additional comments?

If you are intrigued by the premise of this book - as I was - beware. It does not live up to the promise. It sounds like it's going to be a sweeping indictment of the digital age, but is actually a rather weak and shallow story of a single rather uninteresting character and her usually alcohol-fueled romantic relationships. Indeed Eggers presents a lot of interesting takes on the basic notion of social media and loss of privacy, but he hasn't thought his ideas through. He got in way over his head, and so the novel is mostly a big disappointment.

Big Brother Employer

The Circle is the leading tech company in the world. This cutting edge company is perfect in every way. The "campus" is just beautiful. Everything is state of the art. Every employee is friendly, upbeat and psyched to be part of a new movement, a new way of being. It is considered such a privilege to work for the Circle. But not everything is as perfect as it seems to Mae. She has doubts now and then....does she remain a loyal employee?
This book is cool and interesting. For the most part it held my interest. Of course is designed to make the reader think about the nuances of progress, the age of the internet and specifically all of the information sharing the goes along with our " logging on".
Eggers book is not perfect, but it is thought provoking and worthwhile.

Awesome rip on Scientology

I am amazed that no one has mentioned the very obvious references in this story to Scientology. If you want a scary dystopian read with a villain that is part NSA, apple, google, amazon, Facebook and Scientology this is a fun/scary read. It does seem a bit juvenile, but I think that's part of the point - how the young and innocent can be manipulated by nefarious individuals that talk a good talk. I just hope no one at the Church of Scientology reads this - they may get ideas.

well.......

Good story with lots of relevant, thought-provoking ideas about privacy, internet use, etc. The relationships in the story were somewhat stereotypical and card board cut out. Worth reading and thinking about.

Best book I've read/heard in years

A modern 1984, well written and preformed. Really pulls you into the pros and cons of our information society.