“All”: Reality has long since transcended this bitter reality

We already know the head of the digital company Every from The Circle. Mae Holland has not only collected all the major digital platforms at Every but also buys into every creative digital start-up idea. The result is a ubiquitous surveillance machine that people are happy to use – presumably serving their well-being and safety or sometimes even saving the world.

Iger’s heroine, Delaney Wells, belongs to a small community of digital deniers. However, she has masterfully mastered digital tools and has long prepared herself for work at Every. Your goal is to destroy the group from within.

One silly app after another

Delaney naturally succeeds in becoming everyone, as employees call themselves. Wes fight by her side. Together, the two develop one silly app after another, which everyone implements – thirsty for new ideas. Delaney’s hope that people would notice how silly and menacing they are and how each person interferes with their human independence, however, did not materialize.

At the same time, we’re supporting Delaney as she rotates through the company – what the purpose of this is and what Delaney was originally set for is still in the dark. So the second level of the story becomes random in each section movie road, where we always encounter new strange characters and ideas. Curiously enough, reality caught Eggers in writing: When Mark Zuckerberg announced his company’s rebranding from Facebook to Meta a few days ago, US Congressman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez described Meta as “a cancer that is a global surveillance and propaganda machine”. We also learn about some of Zuckerberg’s thoughts on his Metaverse with Delaney at Every: beings scanned for their own virtual world or virtual trips to protect the climate.

As in “The Circle,” Eggers uses simple language for his story. However, his characters remain in every single dimension as well. Good and evil can be easily recognized by hairstyle, clothing and physiognomy. Eggers Every-Welt – Although all are wrapped mostly tight colored Lycra – black or white. Even Delaney doesn’t get tangible, and it looks as though the Eggers are only using his heroes to convey his message from the sinister digital world. His efforts to make us realize how threatened we ultimately feel.

The third size option?

If you’ve struggled your way through that tiring, the story picks up unexpectedly – and ends with a heavy heart. Eggers either wants to keep the third volume option open, or inside is somehow “everyone”: one of the stops Delaney goes through as she spins through Every TellTale. The department’s FictFix algorithm improves literature – turning unsympathetic characters into cute ones, improving book structure and calculating key numbers to maximize mainstream. “A book shouldn’t have more than 500 pages, and if it does, the absolute maximum people can still accept is 579,” says Alessandro. 578 pages link to Egger’s thanks.

Dave Eggers: All. Kiepenheuer & Witsch, 592 pages, €25 (e-book: €19.99)

(JLE)