The Circle by Dave Eggers

Recommended by Professor Allison

In his dystopian novel The Circle (2013), Dave Eggers casts a skeptical eye on Silicon Valley messianism. The breathless self-importance, the self-satisfied (and superficial) cosmopolitanism, the naïve faith in a technological fix for humankind’s every ill—Eggers knows his target, and his criticisms are as thought-provoking as they are funny. As with any satire worth its salt, the reader does not get off scot free. If you’ve ever engaged in online “slacktivism,” slighted your real friends for your virtual ones, or tried to pay attention to a half-dozen screens simultaneously, you will find yourself chuckling in uncomfortable recognition as the novel’s protagonist, Mae Holland, is drawn into the Circle’s suffocating embrace. True, Eggers has neither the philosophical depth of Atwood nor the sheer comic malice of Swift. But he writes fluid, fast-reading prose, and his critique, though never preachy, reminds us that our brave new digital world comes at a high cost. If Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg does indeed run for President in 2020, Eggers will have written the most important book of the campaign season seven years ahead of schedule.