The Circle by Dave Eggers

Author: Dave Eggers
Original title: The Circle
Pages: 448
Edition Language: Russian
Series: no
Format: e-book
Genres: Science Fiction, Dystopia
Goodreads

Blurb:     
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.

My thoughts: 
      One third of the book I was really captivated: the idea is so intriguing and frightening. At the beginning the main character seems to be a strong personality which needed a chance in life, but still a person who is able to value privacy and has a sense of dignity and common sense. And how I was surprised and disappointed that she actually has none of it and so easy to be brainwashed. So my dissatisfaction of the book is based mostly on the on resentment towards Mae's spineless behaviour.
      Description of the office life also raises bewilderment in me. Whoever worked in huge offices knows that there is always gossips about everything, but mostly carrier movement and sex life of employees. Here in absolutely transparent Circle, with average employee age of 25, we see nothing of the kind. It is not that I need sex discussion, but Mae's love interests are so tragic and actually only relationship pictured in the book, that the firm feels really unreal.
    Finally, some scenes raised a question of their relevancy to the book at all. For a example: there is a quite detailed description of Mae's two kayak trips with nature description. You can think those scenes are to show what Mae misses in life, then she voluntarily stays in Circle more and more often, but that would be valid if she at least think about those losses, but she seems to adapt fast and did not regret anything in her former life, thus what those scenes for? To show the reader what Mae is missing, but we all know it and do not need additional poetic descriptions, if it did not add anything to plot or character development.
   So, although, the premises of the book were quite promising, I did not like the execution.

Rating:

    2,5/5