The circle : a novel

Anthony Burgess reviewed The Circle by Dave Eggers

Don't read it, it's probably worse than the movie

1 star

Just save your time, skip this one, it's baaaad.

The protagonist is so extremely naive, the plot points are only surprising in the way that they always go down the route that's so stupid you wouldn't believe the author actually goes there.

The only redeeming quality is the topic. There is so much potential for a fantastic story, but it's just mind boggling how you could screw it up this bad. The personalities of the characters are bland, the technologies are often outright impossible just to allow certain things to be possible, the story is unbelievable as where the plot points go, the dialogs are weird, the way he portrays women is very weird to say the least (especially the toilet scene with "him") ... I could go on for hours with that, but just don't read it. Maybe watch the movie, but don't waste your time with the book. …

Just save your time, skip this one, it's baaaad.

The protagonist is so extremely naive, the plot points are only surprising in the way that they always go down the route that's so stupid you wouldn't believe the author actually goes there.

I mostly feel bad for the story itself. There are so many good authors out there, that would be able to turn this in a work of art. Just the premise alone is strong, it just needs good characters and a believable story. It's sad that they made a movie about this book. They made it because of the premise I'd think, not because of the actual story.

I don't recommend this book, no, I even advise you to not waste your time with this pile of garbage. You are welcome.

Sean Randall reviewed The Circle by Dave Eggers (Lijsters)

Review of 'The Circle' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

"don’t presume the benevolence of your leaders"

This is actually a terrifyingly realistic depiction of what could so seriously happen. A few years ago, people worried that Facebook could dominate in the way of the Circle as shown in this book, and there are still concerns about Google's monopolistic tendencies. Apple had an extreme share of the mobile market at one stage, and it only takes one company with enough pull and vision to tilt us into a single provider world.

This is explored superbly here, and although the reactions from people like Alistaire, Nanci, and Helena and Edward are utterly out-of-proportion and neurotic, they show the absolutism of the social world. The Circle's insistence that out-of-hours "social" activities aren't optional yet are so necessary is a dichotomy brilliantly juxtaposed, and the final paragraph, those hundred words or so, are chilling to the marrow.