If you need me, you can contact me by carrier pigeon. ;)

Mae, through sheer luck, quits her job in nowhereville, and gets an entry-level job at The Circle, a media monopoly organization that has overtaken internet connectivity as we know it, but remains surprisingly personal in nature. As we watch Mae start her new job and learn what it is to be an "inside" member of this huge company, we learn quickly that not everything is safe, and more is expected of Mae than she first realizes. Will she be able to rise through the ranks...and at what cost?

Eggers drives home this point: connection does not equal friendship, does not equal authenticity, does not equal community as we currently define it. Fabulously executed premise, extremely realistic, and ends just as it should. Eggers speaks a scary truth to a world that needs to hear it.

Some complain the main character is flat. I think this is actually appropriate for the book's premise - someone more self-aware and interesting wouldn't have thrived with this company. We want her to run away but we kind of want her to stay, so that we...the viewers, can find out....

Don't close the circle.

pairings: the time machine,