The Circle is the exhilarating new novel from Dave Eggers, best-selling author of A Hologram for the King, a finalist for the National Book Award.
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.
This ebook edition includes a Reading Group Guide.
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.
This ebook edition includes a Reading Group Guide.
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4
PDPhillips (Grade: A) Although I wouldn't call "The Circle" a thriller, I found it hard to put this book down. This look at a company which is obviously a take off on Google (or more accurately a grab-bag of current popular tech companies) and wants all information to be transparent and recorded is brought to its logical, if far-fetched, conclusion. There are some great points made here by Eggers and I have to wonder if he didn't do some serious research on the Google campus before writing this novel. Very good book!
(Rated on Jan 8, 2014)
3
Kenny (Grade: A+) I know it's cool to hate on Eggers, but I love his work and this was no exception. I loved the prose and how Eggers always has sentences that seem innocuous at first, but are heavy foreshadowing on future readings. I was totally absorbed by the scary reality of a company like Google going to their logical extreme.
(Rated on Nov 14, 2013)
2
bennettgavrish
(Grade: B+) Probably should be required reading for all engineers and entrepreneurs who think that data can solve every problem in the world. The book's message is heavy-handed at times, but the progression of the main character is fascinating to watch.
(Grade: B+) Probably should be required reading for all engineers and entrepreneurs who think that data can solve every problem in the world. The book's message is heavy-handed at times, but the progression of the main character is fascinating to watch.(Rated on Feb 24, 2015)
2
TheRaven42
(Grade: A) I couldn't put this down. It was so wel constructed, and scarily possible. It made me feel really anxious, and highly aware of the sociale media I use.
(Grade: A) I couldn't put this down. It was so wel constructed, and scarily possible. It made me feel really anxious, and highly aware of the sociale media I use.(Rated on Jul 18, 2016)
1
dre-conian (Grade: C) This was clearly modeled on 1984, but I'm not sure how much Google or Facebook are equitable to a totalitarian regime.
(Rated on Jan 20, 2014)
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