The Circle

De: Dave Eggers

Narrado por: 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.

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.

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.

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!