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meagan_young's review against another edition
5.0
Man, these books are wild. The Circle was thrilling and shocking, and The Every just piled on top of that. This one was less about the shock factor and more about expanding things we already see coming in modern technology, and asking the question how much is too much? If we’re saving the planet and eliminating crimes, is it okay to completely take over freedom of choice and privacy? Hard questions without actual answers, but plenty to debate. The humor and satire mixed in made it darkly funny, but still scary to sit with. (Sending lots of side-eye to our Alexa now….)
tsumommy's review against another edition
4.0
A brief glance at other reviews is interesting: whining about not being able to buy the book on Amazon? Seriously? Did you even read it?!?
pensnfeathers's review against another edition
4.0
Funny. But not funny "ha ha," funny "my stomach hurts." The Every is a farfetched -- but not that farfetched -- satirical techno thriller that takes place in a near future in which Facebook and Amazon have combined to become a domineering tech monopoly and usher in a libertarian wet dream privately owned surveillance state.
It suffers from the same problem of pacing that The Circle did: the satire sometimes feels repetetive. Yes, I get it, The Every takes social justice too seriously. Yes, I get it, being to reliant on calendars and AI planners makes people unable to thing for themselves. Yes, I get it, every percieved slight is a devestating insult.
But even as it feels repetetive, the book is alarming, sometimes rather intense, and almost always very funny (without feeling like a comedy! A hard line to toe). If you're looking for a satire of big tech The Circle is clearly the place to start and The Every is an excellent followup.
It suffers from the same problem of pacing that The Circle did: the satire sometimes feels repetetive. Yes, I get it, The Every takes social justice too seriously. Yes, I get it, being to reliant on calendars and AI planners makes people unable to thing for themselves. Yes, I get it, every percieved slight is a devestating insult.
But even as it feels repetetive, the book is alarming, sometimes rather intense, and almost always very funny (without feeling like a comedy! A hard line to toe). If you're looking for a satire of big tech The Circle is clearly the place to start and The Every is an excellent followup.
lauramariewheeler's review against another edition
3.0
This book did get stuck in my head a bit especially when my apple watch reminds me to do anything. The plot though was repetitive, I could see the ending coming, and it could have been shorter.
byrningup's review against another edition
3.0
Entertaining, but hollow. This book was too earnest to truly be parody, yet it had nothing substantial to say
savvystory's review against another edition
2.0
I think I finished this book just to write this review, and the irony is not lost on me. This book read as Dave Eggers exorcising his personal beefs with society*, and it only went so much deeper than that when it could’ve been an exploration of our relationship to tech by an excellent writer. We watch a Black Mirror episode to see the dystopic outcomes of technology. I wanted to read a (577-page!) book to sit with the human experience. I think most people, especially of the people reading this, are aware how toxic social media and tech are. So are we going to wallow in that, or are we going to examine why it’s happening?
Where’s the empathy? It felt like a scolding. “Of course human beings would blindly trade their privacy for comfortable security. Blech.” The book references pandemics, violence, climate change. Why might that push people toward desiring certainty? What are the benefits? What are the costs? It kind of makes sense humans might rely on tech to solve these huge issues we face, what are the alternatives? What is the value of uncertainty and subjectivity? How would this disproportionately affect people of different identities? Is it possible to drive change from within the system? How? There was an interesting seed about surveillance replacing religion - what does that say about humans and society? There are so many interesting questions that could’ve been explored.
It also seems out of touch with humans. Like the moment when they say no one has ever pushed back on credit scores, that people love having the clarity of that number. Excuse me? Pretty sure we all hate that you have to go into debt to establish credit to participate in financial life.
But maybe I’m expecting too much; it was supposed to be a dystopic action thriller. It wasn’t that either! There was no plot. Sorry, there was a plot, it was her stints in different departments to show us all the horrifying tech. The juicy mysteries could have propelled the story, but they were forgotten and then wrapped up in a paragraph at the end. Who did the bombings? I guess we’re left to assume it was Stenton’s scheme to bring about the end of the world. Did Joan know? So many unanswered questions.
And don’t get me started on DELANEY. UGH. I was waiting for some self-awareness. Wes hints that she’s being overly individualistic. Otherwise there’s no commentary on her self-centered assumption she could single-handedly overturn the Every. Maybe in book 3 Eggers will let humans discover community organizing.
Also why did Agarwal flip so easily! That’s barely developed and feels so cheap.
This just left a bad taste in my mouth. Hopefully PrefCom can recommend an ethical toothpaste.
*Athletic wear? Really?
Where’s the empathy? It felt like a scolding. “Of course human beings would blindly trade their privacy for comfortable security. Blech.” The book references pandemics, violence, climate change. Why might that push people toward desiring certainty? What are the benefits? What are the costs? It kind of makes sense humans might rely on tech to solve these huge issues we face, what are the alternatives? What is the value of uncertainty and subjectivity? How would this disproportionately affect people of different identities? Is it possible to drive change from within the system? How? There was an interesting seed about surveillance replacing religion - what does that say about humans and society? There are so many interesting questions that could’ve been explored.
It also seems out of touch with humans. Like the moment when they say no one has ever pushed back on credit scores, that people love having the clarity of that number. Excuse me? Pretty sure we all hate that you have to go into debt to establish credit to participate in financial life.
But maybe I’m expecting too much; it was supposed to be a dystopic action thriller. It wasn’t that either! There was no plot. Sorry, there was a plot, it was her stints in different departments to show us all the horrifying tech. The juicy mysteries could have propelled the story, but they were forgotten and then wrapped up in a paragraph at the end. Who did the bombings? I guess we’re left to assume it was Stenton’s scheme to bring about the end of the world. Did Joan know? So many unanswered questions.
And don’t get me started on DELANEY. UGH. I was waiting for some self-awareness. Wes hints that she’s being overly individualistic. Otherwise there’s no commentary on her self-centered assumption she could single-handedly overturn the Every. Maybe in book 3 Eggers will let humans discover community organizing.
Also why did Agarwal flip so easily! That’s barely developed and feels so cheap.
This just left a bad taste in my mouth. Hopefully PrefCom can recommend an ethical toothpaste.
*Athletic wear? Really?
mdarceyhall's review against another edition
3.0
This is a fun albeit unnecessary sequel to The Circle. I love Eggers' writing and his biting wit, and he was successful in making me furious at times with the actions of characters. The main detractions are character development and length. Delaney is fairly flat for a main character. Her motivations are clear but not fully developed and she shows minimal growth. As for length, this book didn't need to be 580 pages. A solid 150-200 pages around the two-thirds mark of the novel was a little repetitive and drawn out. It's clear Eggers was having fun writing this world (which I get because, I, too, would have had fun writing these ridiculous scenes) but it was edging into Stephen King territory and in need of an editor to rein him in. Lastly, for those that like happy endings, this is not for you. A very 1984-esque ending that's appropriate, considering Eggers' message, but bleak.
sbn42's review against another edition
3.0
The exposé of how evil the future merged mega-tech corporation GoogaFaceZon really is.
It should be better. There are some frightening ideas that a couple non-conformists (trogs) try to use to show how truly bad for humanity Every is.
Delaney fabricates her past in an effort to work her way past the evil empire's interview process, then destroy it from within. The really distasteful ideas she and Wes try to inject are shockingly embraced and amplified to their utter dismay. False equivalencies abound: everyone accepts rules that you have to put smoke detectors in your new house for safety, so why would they be upset if we just turn on our home speakers to record your conversations, also for your safety?
Slight spoiler - I was just starting to get hope that the second explosion would finally open the plot, but alas, it was not to be. It limped from there to an obvious end.
It should be better. There are some frightening ideas that a couple non-conformists (trogs) try to use to show how truly bad for humanity Every is.
Delaney fabricates her past in an effort to work her way past the evil empire's interview process, then destroy it from within. The really distasteful ideas she and Wes try to inject are shockingly embraced and amplified to their utter dismay. False equivalencies abound: everyone accepts rules that you have to put smoke detectors in your new house for safety, so why would they be upset if we just turn on our home speakers to record your conversations, also for your safety?
Slight spoiler - I was just starting to get hope that the second explosion would finally open the plot, but alas, it was not to be. It limped from there to an obvious end.
maxm17's review against another edition
Reminded me too much of my time working in Silicon Valley.