The Circle by Dave Eggars : a novel review

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"Secrets are lies. Sharing is caring. Privacy is theft."

Well being the procrastinator that I am, sort of, I read this book about a month ago. Unfortunately for you, that means I don't really remember all too much about it. I've come to realize with the sheer number of books I cram into my head I tend to forget most of them. Only the really, and I mean really, good ones stay. I should clarify, by really good I mean like Lord of the Rings good. Come to think of it that's one of the few books that my memory has kept largely intact. As for the rest of them, they tend to fade over time... Some more so than others... Excuse me for my tangent, I only recorded it so as to explain to you why this review is likely going to be quite vague. But I imagine, by this point. you're rather used to my vagueness. Also excuse me for this rather shallow review, I realize if I really sat down and thought about it, I would have an awful lot to say: and frankly, this book deserves it. However, as I read this quite some time ago, and only did so for recreation, this is really just a surface review.

So, on with the review! I would like to start off by saying this book is amazing. I absolutely loved it, and for that reason whizzed through it in naught days. Apologies if I don't go into the details, mostly because I don't really remember them... This has got to be one of the most harrowing dystopian novels I have ever read. It makes zombies, kids with burning light shooting out of their hands, The Hunger Games seem like a piece of cake. The reason? The Circle gives us a future that is already unfolding. Of course I'm not saying our society could never have a radioactive spill causing an inescapable dome to encase one town of mutating children, but it's not as real. However, this book uses today as the starting point and looks down maybe five, ten, maybe even twenty years down the line. The point is, the reality we are presented with has already potentially begun. And it is because I can see this happening within my lifetime that makes this book so scary. I'm not going to spoil anything in this review, mostly because I can't, but also because I feel you should read it. Eggars' comments on our society are startling. It really forces you to take a look at your own life and decide where it is heading.

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Probably the only bone I have to pick with it is in the future. I sense one of the reasons why I liked this book as much as I did was because I could see this future as reality. We are mere footsteps away from The Circle. However, if I read this fifty, a hundred, five hundred years from now I'm not sure how pertinent it would be. I certainly don't think it would have the same allure it does today. It's because this reality is so close to where we are today that it scares us, it forces us to examine ourselves and the society we live in. Today. But that is just an observation, there certainly isn't anything that Eggars could have done to change this, nor would I have wished him to.

Finally, the ending really surprised me. Perhaps it won't surprise you, but I certainly wasn't expecting it. To be brutally honest, the ending was tragic. Made all the more tragic by the reality of it.

I guess that wasn't an accurate use of the word finally, because I do have one more thing to say. They're making a movie out of it! So read it before it comes out. I believe it is starring Emma Watson and Tom Hanks. So that's kind of cool.


Drinking: Jasmine Green Tea