The Circle by Dave Eggers

Trust me, I understand the weirdness in discussing The Circle, the new novel by Dave Eggers, on the internet. The whole book is a cautionary tale about the perils of the digital world. Part dystopian near future story, part psychological horror, part loss of innocence tale, Eggers has written a deceptively simple story that offers lots of material to ponder.

Dave Eggers

Here's the premise: Mae Holland is a 20 something with no real direction in her life. Her college friend Annie snagged a great job at the Circle, though, and uses her connections to land Mae a job in the customer service department. What is the Circle? Imagine a mix of Facebook and Google, an online world that increasingly dominates both internet and real world experiences. All of one's online interactions are connected through the Circle. Watch TV online on the Circle. Chat with friends on the Circle. Rate your favorite restaurants on the Circle. It's easy. It's convenient. It's fun.

Mae is a bit of a climber and naive, and she's easily influenced. Through a series of successes and a brush with authorities, Mae becomes the guinea pig for being "transparent," the Circle's attempt to document a person's entire life. Imagine if politicians can't have secret meetings with lobbyists. No corruption, no government shutdowns, no lies. No missing children, because children will have chips implanted, and the world is a safer place. Right? Mae lives on the Circle campus, and though going transparent has led to some awkward moments (walking in on her parents' lovemaking is a zillion times worse when four million people are watching along with you), she's become the face of the Circle.

Maybe Big Brother is already watching....

Eggers is making a statement about the lack of privacy in the digital world. In the world of the Circle, can not go kayaking on the bay without the whole world commenting on it, watching it, rating it, taking a survey about it. How much is too much? Eggers isn't arguing against the digital world, but he is making the case for sanity. Grumpy Cat is okay, but bullying people to death (literally) is too much. And the world Eggers paints isn't so far fetched. Just today, there was an article--which of course I read online--about the proposed walled-in community being developed for Facebook programmers. It's a brave new world.

Best Book of the Year So Far: Michael McCarthy

How can a film with running
in it ever be boring?

Well this is posting is very awkward. Michael, a bookseller at BookPeople decided to become my mortal enemy by not loving the film, Frances Ha. After his scathing Facebook review referred to it as,“boring,” I couldn’t bring myself to even look in his direction. We haven’t spoken in six months! Well, I mean we haven’t spoken with the exception of me asking him what his favorite book of the year has been so far (or anytime I see him at the store, or if he answers the phone when I call).  Anyway, his choice sounds boring!! Not really, I am a pretty big Willett fan. 

Here is Michael McCarthy’s pick for best book of the year so far:

2013 has brought many gifts to the reading fanatic. My favorite so far is "Amy Falls Down" by Jincy Willett. Like most of Willett's work it is hilarious and wise. There's an undercurrent of sadness, too. The plot is simple - Novelist Amy Gallup lives with her dog, teaches a writing class, and keeps her engagement with the outside world to a minimum. Then she falls down and hits her head while working in her garden. A local writer interviews her while she's still suffering from the effects of hitting her head so hard, and her loopy responses to the idiotic questions she's being asked are quoted verbatim in the article. The article attracts a lot of attention and completely changes her life. All sorts of stuff happens and I've forgotten some of it so it looks like I'll have to read this delightful book again.