The Circle
2013
- multiple sclerosis
- internet phobia
- dystopia
- future
- sci-fi
- literary fiction
- suspense
- thriller
- fiction
- technology
The story
The Circle is a 2013 dystopian novel written by American author Dave Eggers. The novel chronicles tech worker Mae Holland as she joins a powerful Internet company. Her initially rewarding experience turns darker.
What it’s like
Bright, sterile corporate light and glossy surfaces, with the prose itself running in unbroken, breathless sentences that mimic the feed-scrolling rhythm of a workplace that never sleeps. Campus scenes arrive in lush, sun-washed detail (white tents, glass walls, perfectly manicured lawns), and the voice stays close and eager, so the unease builds slowly under the sheen, like a pleasant office gradually closing in. Reading it feels like a long, tightening suspense: a steady undercurrent of dread rather than shocks, with the occasional jolt of public humiliation or surveillance. Violence is absent, and sexual content is minimal and non-explicit; the harm is social, psychological and bureaucratic, with a few scenes of illness and a quietly bleak ending. Vibe: sunny paranoia, polished and watchful. It suits a weekday commute, a plane ride, or a focused evening when you want tension without gore. It is for readers who enjoy techno-satire, the slow corrosion of a bright ideal, and characters who mistake belonging for freedom.
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