A review by muffmacguff
The Every by Dave Eggers
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
I thought a lot was great about this book but it also had some very notable flaws. It’s a solid expansion on what he started with The Circle, acknowledging how much worse tech companies are now than he saw then. I think telling the story through one character’s eyes is interesting because a lot of the story goes unexplained just because she (Delaney) doesn’t really know what happened - this sometimes works to the detriment of her character development, I think. I also thought the book was correctly alarmist about monopoly tech companies but conflating them with like cancel culture and stuff was a little silly and felt out of touch - as though a tech company would make any decision based on an apparent consensus of its employees? Idk.
The edition I read had discussion questions in the back which is a feature I often find worthwhile but in this case many were ridiculous. This book takes place in the near future and occasionally involves characters interacting with houseless people. One discussion question is like “If you lived in the time of this book would you be [one type of character], [another type of character], or an unhoused person?” Like guys homelessness is not a sci fi concept. It also literally asks “What kind of business model would truly minimize waste and wasteful shopping?” ⚒⚒⚒
This book reminded me in some chilling ways of Mother Night, I think it’s a reasonably good companion piece! Anyway I do recommend if you liked The Circle enough.
The edition I read had discussion questions in the back which is a feature I often find worthwhile but in this case many were ridiculous. This book takes place in the near future and occasionally involves characters interacting with houseless people. One discussion question is like “If you lived in the time of this book would you be [one type of character], [another type of character], or an unhoused person?” Like guys homelessness is not a sci fi concept. It also literally asks “What kind of business model would truly minimize waste and wasteful shopping?” ⚒⚒⚒
This book reminded me in some chilling ways of Mother Night, I think it’s a reasonably good companion piece! Anyway I do recommend if you liked The Circle enough.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Suicide attempt and Suicide