The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi

[Karsa Orlong]

Last night I finished The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi. Has anyone else read it?

 

It's set in 22nd century Bangkok, when the world has succumbed to all the environmental perils we know about - and then some more. The face of the world has been changed by rising sea levels. Conventional fuels are a thing of the past. Calories are now a form of currency. GM crops mutate on a regular basis and spread plagues, while American GM corporations try to stay one step ahead, dominating the global economy by selling their disease-free products. Only Thailand has remained independent, with its closely guarded seedbank - uninfected genetic material which the corporations covet.

 

Into this world the author throws a commendably small group of main characters: Anderson Lake, around whom the story pivots, is the undercover agent of one of the huge corporations; Hock Seng is a Malayan Chinese, a 'Yellow Card', who fled his country's ethnic cleansing, leaving behind his wealth and his family business; Jaidee and Kanya are soldiers for the Thai environment ministry; and then there's Emiko, the titular 'Windup Girl' - manufactured by the Japanese to be the perfect servant, she has been left behind in Bangkok and has fallen into a life of hatred and abuse from which she strives to escape.

 

From these various threads springs an action-packed story of industrial espionage, political strife and civil war. But, through it all, it's the characters that take centre stage.

 

The one warning I'd give about this novel is that there are a couple of horrific and disturbing scenes of sexual violence towards Emiko. I'm not sure I'd call them gratuitous, because - without spoiling anything - they do serve both the character and the story, but they make for uncomfortable reading.

 

Apart from that, the book is written in present tense and moves at a cracking pace which makes you want to see what happens next. When the revelations start to come thick and fast in its second half I found it almost hypnotic. Paolo's writing style is marvellous. And it has what will probably become one of my favourite covers of all time - it's so evocative.

 

 

With the aforementioned caveat aside, this book is utterly, utterly (utterly) brilliant. I've only just discovered that it won 2009's Nebula Award, and is up for a Hugo as well. Thoroughly deserved, imo.

Edited June 26, 2010 by Karsa Orlong

[Echo]

This book is pretty high up on my wishlist. I've never read any steampunk before, but I've heard this is brilliant. Great review!

[chrysalis_stage]

This is high on my wishlist also, like Echo, I keep considering buying it every time I go on amazon. Hearing your approval makes me consider it even more so. Great to hear you loved it!