eschultz16's review against another edition
3.0
I wanted to like this book. I loved the concept, I loved the premise, and thought it was extremely relevant to modern society and when too far was too far.
But, it didn't work. It's not a great book, and I only continued to see how far it would go until someone got the point of what's going on. I really hope that people who read this book understand why things are bad. If you don't you'll get it explained to you point blank every couple pages. And the reason won't change.
The concept is engrossing, and I kept wanting to read more. So it had that going for it. It was definitely intriguing, but also disappointing. I'm wondering if the movie will be able to pull it off better...
But, it didn't work. It's not a great book, and I only continued to see how far it would go until someone got the point of what's going on. I really hope that people who read this book understand why things are bad. If you don't you'll get it explained to you point blank every couple pages. And the reason won't change.
The concept is engrossing, and I kept wanting to read more. So it had that going for it. It was definitely intriguing, but also disappointing. I'm wondering if the movie will be able to pull it off better...
evadis's review against another edition
3.0
Ik vind The Circle vermakelijk, maar het boek zal me niet bijblijven. Het opende heel sterk, werd steeds wat meer herhalend en trager en was net niet naar genoeg om echt indruk op me te maken of me bij te blijven. Ik had het interessanter gevonden als het allemaal wat psychologischer was, als er meer introspectie was geweest. De personages waren echt heel saai en vlak. Ik kon Francis en Kalden in het begin niet eens uit elkaar houden, omdat ik gewoon geen beeld had bij ze.
The Circle is een beetje een gevalletje 'sla-het-boek-over-en-kijk-de-film' (want er zit niks in dit boek dat je niet kan overbrengen op beeld), kijk een aflevering Black Mirror (dat is pas naar) of lees een écht goed dystopisch boek (1984).
The Circle is een beetje een gevalletje 'sla-het-boek-over-en-kijk-de-film' (want er zit niks in dit boek dat je niet kan overbrengen op beeld), kijk een aflevering Black Mirror (dat is pas naar) of lees een écht goed dystopisch boek (1984).
dlberglund's review against another edition
4.0
Wow. I feel that even opening up this window and writing a review at all is a betrayal of the spirit of the novel. Let's just say that this was a heart-pounding novel full of what-ifs about tech companies that start out with grand intentions of making the internet/world a better place, but make you wonder if they're forgetting to not be evil. I don't think I can let you have a virtual experience of this- just read the book yourself. I'll be here catching my breath.
rebelais's review
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
readreadreadbby's review against another edition
4.0
the ending really pissed me off.. hope society doesn't become like this or is it already?
vickymcckey's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
cheshirebelle's review against another edition
4.0
Dit boek zet mij aan het denken. Aan de ene kant is het super handig wat Mae allemaal zegt en wat The Circle allemaal inhoudt, maar aan de andere kant heeft Mercer ook gelijk. Het is een dilemma waar de huidige maatschappij nog steeds mee bezig is, en een balans moet gevonden worden. Al met al een pracht boek, waar ik echt van genoten heb.
rltinha's review against another edition
1.0
A sexyst dystopia apparently plagiarized from Boy Kings by Kate Losse.
The protagonist, a young woman (with almost no ability for criticism and gullible to the bone) gets a job in a company that vies for world monopoly and tyranny at the cost of all privacy and individual liberties. And the only two characters that seem aware of the wrongness of such doings are, of course, men.
One, treated with vile condescension and taken as as ludite lunatic is… fat and unattractive. The other is mysterious and attractive enough to make the two dimensional acritic bimbo vacillate.
All in all Eggers does remind us that we are constantly giving our personal data for free (therefore voluntary losing our privacy) for the sake of global networking whose intentions one assumes to be good but truly are not known. The writing often offers/uses large segments filled with boring details that actually work well as a depiction of the alienation, specific procedures, and vocabulary unique to some levels of networking.
And this is the only positive thing to say about the book.
Airport literature is often like this: a few cool ideas (original or ripped off), some narrative artifacts to keep the read going, and a good portion of time elapsed without some valid reading experience to speak for it.
The protagonist, a young woman (with almost no ability for criticism and gullible to the bone) gets a job in a company that vies for world monopoly and tyranny at the cost of all privacy and individual liberties. And the only two characters that seem aware of the wrongness of such doings are, of course, men.
One, treated with vile condescension and taken as as ludite lunatic is… fat and unattractive. The other is mysterious and attractive enough to make the two dimensional acritic bimbo vacillate.
All in all Eggers does remind us that we are constantly giving our personal data for free (therefore voluntary losing our privacy) for the sake of global networking whose intentions one assumes to be good but truly are not known. The writing often offers/uses large segments filled with boring details that actually work well as a depiction of the alienation, specific procedures, and vocabulary unique to some levels of networking.
And this is the only positive thing to say about the book.
Airport literature is often like this: a few cool ideas (original or ripped off), some narrative artifacts to keep the read going, and a good portion of time elapsed without some valid reading experience to speak for it.