Book Review: The Circle, Dave Eggers
Science Fiction: The Circle, Dave Eggers
I’ve said this before, but it bears repeating: Some science fiction books take place in a distant, possibly unimaginable future, while others could begin next Tuesday. The Circle by Dave Eggers is one of the latter. In fact, we might already be in the middle of this story.
The Circle is the newest, latest, greatest social media/search engine/online shopping mall ever created. From a Silicon Valley startup to the company that swallowed Twitter, Facebook, Amazon, and every other Internet behemoth, the Circle is the app that follows you everywhere. Literally, everywhere. Do you fear your child being kidnapped? The Circle lets you microchip them so you can track them anywhere–forever. Do you fear catching some disease? The Circle lets you monitor all of your vital signs and more, sharing that information not only with your doctors but with the entire world so that someone from another continent can suggest a diagnosis. Do you want to see more participation in voting? The Circle can automatically register you to vote, remind you that it’s time to vote, accept and tally your vote–and if you fail to vote, The Circle can freeze your phone, your computer, your smart car, your bank account, and everything else you use until you do vote.
Mae Holland is a small-town young woman hired to work at The Circle’s headquarters. Enamored with the collegial atmosphere, the modern facilities, and the constant buzz of novelty, she feels like she has won the opportunity of a lifetime. What starts off as a dream job, though, comes to dominate her life more and more and more. As we follow Mae through her journey up the ladder and into the inner circle of the circle, the book becomes more and more chilling. At some point I was no longer sure whether this was science fiction, psychological thriller, or horror.
We think we are living in a world without privacy, and to a large extent that is truer every day. Still, though, most of us have things we would prefer to keep personal. I may not be a billionaire, but I don’t want my financial details available to just anyone. I am fairly open about my personal health struggles, but I am in control of that narrative and can disclose or not as I choose. Someone may be able to draw conclusions about my mood, my tastes, my eccentricities, etc. from my choices of music and movies–but I seldom share those things (perhaps in favor of oversharing what I read?). Some secrets are best left secret, some lies exist with innocent intent, some things should remain private. Do we really want someone to answer truthfully when we ask if our favorite garment makes us look fat? Certain fictions lubricate relationships, and absolute candor can lead to absolute loneliness.
The Circle should be a must-read for anyone concerned about the potential for abuse in our connected world. I might behave better if someone is always watching–but then the question becomes whether I am really that person being watched or am I a construct built to endure being watched? Unless we are truly ready to subsume our identities into a model curated by people we don’t know and who don’t know us, we had better hold tightly to whatever possible anonymity remains.
Book Review: The Circle, Dave Eggers