The future always seems so far away. Fifty years ago, who would have dreamed that we would be carrying computers in our pockets. However, we did dream of many other things. The car and home of the future were designed and marketed to many Americans coming back from World War II. However, neither of those products ever became very successful but at the same time, these ideas showed that we never stop thinking about the future.

Dave Eggers shows us that even today the future is still so important for the human mind to imagine. He paints us a picture of a future taken over by technology, controlled by a over arching establishment much like today’s Google. The story seems very reminiscent of Orwell’s 1984. Big Brother can be seen as the Circle itself or the Three Wise Men who run the company. The Circle is constantly monitoring everyone’s activity. Everything is shared and everyone is more than willing to share. Eggers draws parallels from today’s social media universe. He hints at tech giants such as Facebook and Twitter in his explanation of the reactions and followers each user in the Circle interacts with.

Eggers uses today’s world as a warning to what will come in the future. He also alludes that the different ranks in the Circle are like those in Dante’s Inferno. The further Dante descends into hell the greater amount of pain and suffering he encounter. In Eggers The Circle, every time Mae moves up the circle, she is allowing herself to become more transparent. Although she may not see it as her descent into hell, we, as the reader, can see she is only becoming more distant from the world around her. As the story progresses you see Mae’s sweet nature turning into a cruel attitude to those who care for her. She ruthlessly destroys her ex-boyfriend’s business with her negative commentary. Mae becomes obsessed with overtaking her friend Annie, and refuses to listen to Annie’s warnings. She even distances herself from her family, leaving her with nothing but the people of the Circle.

I first read this book in late 2013, right after it came out. I found it to be an interesting concept. We are moving towards a world that is more transparent, and Eggers does a good job in portraying that concept. There are moments in the book that I believe there could have been a deeper dissection of Mae’s character. There is so much more to her than what I believe is in the book. Her submission to the Circle seems premature and perhaps even forced from my angle. The message Eggers provides is a good one, but I did not find it to be as moving the second time around.