| book review |
The Circle
by Samantha Hanchett , Marketing Coordinator , Thomas County Public Library System
Jumping into this novel is like beginning an episode of Black Mirror : a depiction of the future that focuses on the insidious incorporation of technology . Basically – a horror show . But what makes it so disturbing is that these technologies are absolutely possible and already have roots in the world , making the fictions a foreseeable reality . This novel will get into your head and put you on edge , but not necessarily in a bad way . I think it could wake us up .
The book follows Mae Holland , a twenty-something woman from Fresno , California as she enters into a new career at The Circle , the world ’ s most powerful internet company that blew up after creating a program that connects users ’ personal emails , social media , banking and purchasing resulting in one un-anonymous online identity . It is an age of worldwide civility and transparency . Everyone wants to work at The Circle and , thanks to her college best-friend Annie , Mae is now a part of the ever-growing group of Circlers .
The book starts out innocently enough . Mae is given a tour of the campus which sprawls for miles and holds tennis courts , an aquarium , a helio pad , a towering glass cafeteria that hosts internationally renowned and budding chefs each day , and more – it ’ s practically its own mini metropolis with rolling green hills . Everything is free ( and highly encouraged ) for Circlers to use . Ending her mind-boggling day is one of the many before / during / after work events , a solstice soiree , that cements Mae ’ s astonishment at her luck in securing a position in the world ’ s most desirable company . She has joined the utopia .
The next day , Mae is introduced to her new role in the Customer Experience department where she will be responding to customer queries regarding The Circle ’ s numerous technologies , but instantly , something starts feeling off . After training , a trio of HR individuals walk in with their gleaming tablets in need of Mae ’ s signature , fingerprints and birth certificate . No questions allowed . No offer to read the documents she ’ s signing and Mae doesn ’ t question . In a flurry of ear-to-ear smiles , they are gone . Instantly , red flags are flying at the reader , left , right and center .
But it doesn ’ t stop there . Mae ’ s role doesn ’ t just require her to answer emails and religiously follow-up on customers who score her service below 100 ; her lucite cubicle begins to grow with a bevy of screens that require her attention . One screen for inter-department messaging , another for InnerCircle and OuterCircle social media participation ( a requirement of the job that is also ranked ), and her new Circle-issued smartphone , all of which are pinging and demanding that she interact with them . It is a blue-screen nightmare where she is valued by her rank in participating at all seconds of the day .
Only Mae has another layer to her that The Circle is unaware . Her father back home is living with multiple sclerosis and drowning in pain , medical bills and insurance nightmares while a former boyfriend helps to take care of them , growing ever circumspect of the goings-on of Mae ’ s employer and its technologies hold on the world . In an effort to distance herself from this mounting stress and worry , she escapes into the bay using a cash-only kayak rental to find the stillness and silence only nature can provide . Only , one night after a particularly disastrous visit , the
84 April | May 2022 Thomasville Scene