The Circle: A look at a Character

There are just so many characters I want to talk about: Mae, Kalden, creepy Francis...
But there is one I actually want to focus on for the sake of this response: Mercer.

Mercer is the ex-boyfriend of protagonist Mae Holland. They really don't seem to get along, and he isn't took keen on her new job, while she's just not to keen on... him.

I found a real problem with Mercer. He actually seems like an interesting person, and he was the only other person in the book that had some sense about him, though he seemed high minded about it.

But there lies the problem: His portrayal. It was what conflicted me most about his character. What he had to say to Mae and about everything that about her job and the modern age they were advancing into were valid points, but he is portrayed as this putrid human being. He's fat and ugly and not worth giving a damn about because he won't conform. Or this is how Mae sees it, and this is the only way we can see it. We can never see him in a view that doesn't have Mae painted all over it. I probably would have taken him more seriously earlier in the book if it wasn't for how Mae was so dismissive and rejecting of him from the get go.

I would have actually liked to know more about Mercer, and I'm actually  a bit sorry that I didn't get to see him beyond what we did see of him.