The Circle: The Firm Redux
By Dave Eggers
Alfred A. Knopf, $27.95, 491 pages
Imagine leaving a mediocre and dead-end job for a position at a company at the forefront of innovation. You leave behind your bosses with tunnel vision for leaders who promote creative thinking and actually think about how to effectively manage people. You leave behind the simple banter about the day-to-day lives of your colleagues and their children for elaborate parties where you are able to enjoy the latest food innovations. This is The Circle.
“The era of false identities, identity theft, multiple user names, complicated passwords and payment systems was over. . . Overnight, all comment boards became civil, all posters head accountable. The tolls, who had more or less overtaken the internet, were driven back into the darkness.”
Although alluring, all is not always what it seems on the surface, and The Circle will quickly remind you of John Grisham’s The Firm with techies and engineers instead of lawyers, corporate offices instead of a law office, and Silicon Valley instead of Memphis. But what is the same is the feeling that something is not right making The Circle as thrilling and captivating as The Firm. Dave Eggers is able to grasp the intricate details of the tech industry, as John Grisham was able to do with law firms. As with The Firm, plan to read The Circle in one sitting – it’s totally worth the wasted daylight.
Reviewed by Tiffany Nichols
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