Yesterday one of the first people Facebook ever hired went on Twitter to denounce Dave Eggers, whose forthcoming novel, The Circle, sounds awfully similar to her memoir about Facebook’s early days, The Boy Kings. In the process, Katherine Losse makes some great points about fairness (or lack thereof) as it relates to art, gender, and fame.
When a male author writes a book it is assumed it "addresses the essential social issues of the day". When a woman writes, it is dismissed.—
kate losse (@fake_train) September 18, 2013
Nevermind that the woman ACTUALLY WORKED and lived in this world for five years and is also a professional writer.—
kate losse (@fake_train) September 18, 2013
And when a man "takes vengeance on Facebook & Google" he is seen as strong, whereas if a woman writes critically she is derided as bitter.—
kate losse (@fake_train) September 18, 2013
whitebros think they own everything but no—
kate losse (@fake_train) September 18, 2013
Just in terms of timing, it seems doubtful that Eggers could have stolen Losse’s idea outright: Losse’s memoir came out in June 2012, so Eggers’ novel would have had to be delivered to his publisher just a few months later in order to be coming out in October 2013. But it seems fair to say that Eggers will receive a lot more press for his novel than Losse received for her groundbreaking memoir. The question is not whether this imbalance is unfair and sexist, but to what extent.
Neither of these premises sounds original, anyway. A young hotshot joins an organization with dreams of changing the world, only to become disillusioned. Isn’t that just like… every movie ever? At least Losse had the courage to put her own life experiences on the table. Eggers’ novel sounds like a Silicon Valley sequel to The Firm.
- Brian Hurley
It has been suggested that I should have titled this post “The Circle Jerk.”