I know I’m a little bit behind on the hype of this book, but
I don’t care because it’s great! I started reading it about a half a year ago
and loved it… but the usual, stuff got in the way and I never ended up
finishing it… until now!
I’m a massive geeky- literature nerd, I study English Lit at
university and I’m constantly reading or buying books, it keeps me sane. There’s a lot of power in walking into a
heavily stacked bookshop and spending hours perusing the shelves for your next
literary adventure, or watching your own shelves start to fill up as you build
your own collection- I just love it! From used charity shop books, to
Waterstones brand spanking new books, I really do love them all and the physical
feel of holding a book will never ever be replaced (hence why Kindles are just
not my thing!). But I was naughty with this book as did the “buying a book by its
cover” thing… I saw the beautiful, bright, intriguing cover and just had to
find out what it was about. I read up on it and wowza it sounded good, so
without hesitation- I got it!... Easy peasy.
The Circle is a story of Mae, when she is hired to work for
the Circle, the world's most powerful internet company; she feels she's been
given the opportunity of a lifetime. Run out of a sprawling California campus,
the Circle links users' personal emails, social media, and finances with their
universal operating system, resulting in one online identity and a new age of
transparency. Mae can't believe her great fortune to work for them - even as
life beyond the campus grows distant, even as a strange encounter with a
colleague leaves her shaken, even as her role at the Circle becomes
increasingly public ... Gripping right?!...
What makes this novel so successful is Dave Eggers on point
commentary of the ever increasing power and importance of social media - and
when I say importance, I don’t mean it as a
positive. Our society is shifting to thrive off the lack of publicity, we feel
the need to post a continuous stream of photos about every happening in our
life, statuses about the most problematic things that are happening to us and
it’s just getting too much! Facebook is slowly changing its policies and
paperwork so that it can inch its way into our computers, lives and minds; to control
and see all our information - to be frank it’s just scary. Therefore Eggers
sees these worries and makes them bigger in the novel, to perhaps make a
prediction on the way our society will shift if we don’t become more private.
The ‘young adult’ feel to it means it’s accessible to everyone, and the laid
back tone is information, yet not overly descriptive or “heavy”.
If you can’t tell already I really loved the book, and I
think if I was to re-read it, it’d just get better. It’s quick, easy and
absolutely seeping with tech-savvy creations and innovative ideas.
If you like 1984- you’ll love this! If you haven't read 1984 read this first!
Tell me what you thought of the book... or
-Ioana x
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