Comment

Jul 26, 2017RoyalJellyIII rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
“The Circle” makes some important points about timely issues such as the end of privacy (already upon us), totalitarianism/monopolies, the power of “groupthink” and delusion, and the weaknesses of governments that are incestuously linked to private corporations. However, I found myself skimming through parts where it got bogged down. On one hand, Eggers’ attention to detail is impressive and extremely conscientious. For instance, he details the Circle’s elaborate system of success metrics (a combination of performance and social media rankings) that eerily parallels today’s times. But he also spent a lot of time describing the mechanics of Mae’s job as a customer service rep, and I’m not sure there was a point to having to digest all those specifics. I think a talented editor could have honed this manuscript down to 300 pages instead of 500, while still making the main points.