When Mae's friend helps her get a job at the Circle, she can't believe her luck. She was working in a dead end job at a utility where she was bored to tears. The Circle is everyone's dream job. The best and brightest work there and the pay and benefits show that. The campus has everything anyone could want, with exercise facilities, world class restaurants, dormitories for those who need to stay over and lectures and demonstrations of all that is new and noteworthy in the world.
The Circle uses data to solve problems and it seems there are no problems it cannot solve. Need to cut crime? Saturate the area with tons of cameras. Need to cure an intractable disease? Network all those who suffer from it and the data collected can fuel cures.
Of course, in order to collect the enormous amount of data needed for breakthroughs, some things have to be sacrificed. Things like privacy. Things like ever being disconnected from social media. Things like having anything secret or doing anything that isn't open to public view and comment. Things like working crushing amount of hours and having to meet performance goals that are in the 98th percentile with constant feedback and the pressure of doing whatever it takes to push the rate upward, always upward.
As Mae gets more entrenched in the culture, she faces issues she didn't expect. She has to decide whether to retain friendships and family outside the Circle. She has to determine if love can be a part of her life. She has to decide what is more important, the goals of the Circle or her former life. Which will she choose?
Eggers has written a novel that asks important questions about the data driven environment we seem to be moving toward. There are benefits to be derived from the collection and analysis of massive amounts of data but what about personal privacy? Unfortunately, the book often makes these points in a heavy handed manner but they are ideas that are important to consider. This book is recommended for readers of science fiction.
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