Lilith reviewed The Circle by Dave Eggers
It feels like a caricature of dystopia
2 stars
Content warning discussion of the Circle's technology re: sexual assault (spoilers?)
P.S. This is my first time reading a dystopian novel. As such, I have no comparisons to draw, but it ought to be possible to do it much better.
Am I supposed to believe no one saw this small, inexpensive SeeChange camera and did not immediately think of the great value this would bring to voyeurs? How is anyone supposed to feel safe in bathrooms or locker rooms? It was advertised as a tool that would make life easier, communities safer, but apparently every character is so near-sighted as to not even deem this issue worthy of a single sentence. I find it extremely hard to believe that nobody in the whole research + development + marketing process would have thought of this. The naivety of almost all characters in this novel regarding privacy is utterly infuriating and unrealistic. Why do the characters still stand behind The Circle after so many violations of their privacy which they are described to be disgusted by? Why do they take "I'm sorry, but we cannot help you with this." as an answer?
Apart from the problem I've already talked about, the scenes in which Mae has sex as well as the ones in which she thinks about her lovers seem to me like the very definition of "written by a man", it's just that uncomfortable.
If this weren't required reading for my class I would probably have given up after half of it. It tries to be more than it is.
