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The Circle by Dave Eggers – review | Dave Eggers | The Guardian

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I n a recent essay published in these pages, Jonathan Franzen inveighed against what he sees as the glibness and superficiality of the new online culture. “With technoconsumerism,” he wrote, “a humanist rhetoric of ‘empowerment’ and ‘creativity’ and ‘freedom’ and ‘connection’ and ‘democracy’ abets the frank monopolism of the techno-titans; the new infernal machine seems increasingly to obey nothing but its own developmental logic, and it’s far more enslavingly addictive, and far more pandering to people’s worst impulses, than newspapers ever were.” I cite this because it chimes with the points that Dave Eggers is making in his latest novel, The Circle; we are at an interesting moment when two such significant figures of American letters have both independently been so moved to expound on the same subject. But my guess is that Eggers won’t suffer the same online crucifixion that has subsequently been Franzen’s fate. Why? Because although Eggers is saying all the same things as Franzen (

Illustration by Clifford Harper/Agraphia.co.uk Illustration by Clifford Harper/Agraphia.co.uk Dave Eggers This article is more than 12 years old Review The Circle by Dave Eggers – review This article is more than 12 years old Edward Docx hails what could be the most prescient satirical commentary on the early internet age Edward Docx Wed 9 Oct 2013 11.00 EDT Share Prefer the Guardian on Google I n a recent essay published in these pages, Jonathan Franzen inveighed against what he sees as the glibness and superficiality of the new online culture. “With technoconsumerism,” he wrote, “a humanist

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