By Drew Damon, Grand Rapids Public Library, Main Branch

Dave Eggers offers us a very interesting new take on the Dystopia genre with his most recent novel, The Circle. The plot follows Mae Holland, a recently hired employee of the world’s most powerful internet company, The Circle (think Google and fFacebook combined), and their desire to create a more honest and just society. Mae’s experience at the company grows very complicated when the company’s innovations become more intrusive, and mantras such as “Secrets are Lies – Sharing is Caring – Privacy is Theft,” begin to be taken more seriously.

What I enjoyed most about the book, was that I had a very difficult time figuring out if the choices being made by the Circle were beneficial or detrimental to humanity. The entire book revolves around the tension between social justice and human rights, and whether constant access to anyone’s life would be worth it if everyone also had access to yours.

Unfortunately, the book felt like it was written in a bit of a rush, and I can see why some fans of Eggers are disappointed. However, the ideas and concepts he engages with still made it a very compelling read, and I for one couldn’t put it down. He also references Grand Rapids on page 411!

I would definitely recommend it to anyone interested in the future impact of the internet.