Dave Eggers’ new novel is a sequel to The Circle, his hugely successful 2013 satire about a “Facebook proxy”, said Dominic Maxwell in The Times. In this follow-up, The Circle has rebranded itself as The Every, after swallowing up a rival known as “The Jungle”.
Delaney, a new employee, is a closet hater of “surveillance capitalism”, and plans to bring the company down from the inside by launching a series of technologies so preposterous they’ll turn people against it.
Her inventions include the “relationship-wrecking app” Friendy – which can “detect whether your friend or partner is being truthful” – and Stop+Lük, an eye-tracking technology. Full of “horribly good jokes”, The Every is a “remarkable piece of satire”.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Predictably, Delaney’s scheme veers off track, said Rob Doyle in The Observer. Regular people, instead of rejecting her “moronic apps”, are so inured to having their freedom curtailed that they embrace them with gusto. The Every isn’t perfect – its plotting is “clunky” in places – but it advances lots of interesting ideas, “in the form of gulpable fictive entertainment”.
Hamish Hamilton 608pp £12.99; The Week Bookshop £9.99
The Week Bookshop
To order this title or any other book in print, visit theweekbookshop.co.uk, or speak to a bookseller on 020-3176 3835. Opening times: Monday to Saturday 9am-5.30pm and Sunday 10am-4pm.
-
‘Jumping genes': How polar bears are rewiring their DNA to survive the warming ArcticUnder the radar The species is adapting to warmer temperatures
-
January’s books feature a revisioned classic, a homeschooler's memoir and a provocative thriller dramedyThe Week Recommends This month’s new releases include ‘Call Me Ishmaelle’ by Xiaolu Guo, ‘Homeschooled: A Memoir’ by Stefan Merrill Block, ‘Anatomy of an Alibi’ by Ashley Elston and ‘Half His Age’ by Jennette McCurdy
-
Venezuela’s Trump-shaped power vacuumIN THE SPOTLIGHT The American abduction of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has thrust South America’s biggest oil-producing state into uncharted geopolitical waters
-
The ultimate films of 2025 by genreThe Week Recommends From comedies to thrillers, documentaries to animations, 2025 featured some unforgettable film moments
-
Into the Woods: a ‘hypnotic’ productionThe Week Recommends Jordan Fein’s revival of the much-loved Stephen Sondheim musical is ‘sharp, propulsive and often very funny’
-
The best food books of 2025The Week Recommends From mouthwatering recipes to insightful essays, these colourful books will both inspire and entertain
-
Art that made the news in 2025The Explainer From a short-lived Banksy mural to an Egyptian statue dating back three millennia
-
Nine best TV shows of the yearThe Week Recommends From Adolescence to Amandaland
-
Winter holidays in the snow and sunThe Week Recommends Escape the dark, cold days with the perfect getaway
-
The best homes of the yearFeature Featuring a former helicopter engine repair workshop in Washington, D.C. and high-rise living in San Francisco
-
Critics’ choice: The year’s top 10 moviesFeature ‘One Battle After Another’ and ‘It Was Just an Accident’ stand out
