From the Bookshelf of Apocalypse Whenever…

The Windup Girl

Paolo Bacigalupi

Start date: September 10, 2012

Finish date: October 1, 2012

Discussion: AW BOOK CLUB (spoilers)

Why we're reading this: Chosen for the October discussion.
[close] Chosen for the October discussion.

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AW BOOK CLUB (spoilers)

* What is a good book for AW discussion? (Nominations pool)
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* AW Book Club: what we've read
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What Members Thought

Mar 17, 2011 Michele rated it really liked it

Shelves: dystopia-apocalypse

Imagine a world where Monsanto not only invented and patented disease-resistant (but sterile) seeds but then launched bioengineered viruses to kill off the real stuff so the world HAD to buy from them. Or maybe it was bioterrorism. Or maybe both, combined with global warming and peak oil; it's a little unclear. Suffice to say, this is a world with LOTS of ways to kill you, only a few of which can be avoided by hard work and/or enough money.

I'm not sure what to do with this book. It has incredibl Imagine a world where Monsanto not only invented and patented disease-resistant (but sterile) seeds but then launched bioengineered viruses to kill off the real stuff so the world HAD to buy from them. Or maybe it was bioterrorism. Or maybe both, combined with global warming and peak oil; it's a little unclear. Suffice to say, this is a world with LOTS of ways to kill you, only a few of which can be avoided by hard work and/or enough money.

I'm not sure what to do with this book. It has incredibly realistic and detailed world-building...but it's not a world I would ever ever want to live in. It has complex and well-drawn characters...almost all of whom (view spoiler). It has many novel plot twists which I did not foresee...and a whole semi-boring political sub-plot which I never fully understood. My mind has trouble wrapping itself around things like political machinations and shifting alliances, which is why my college roommate finally barred me from going with her to see spy movies, because I was always whispering, "Who's that? Why is she with him? What's he doing, I thought he was one of the good guys? Is that the same guy that we saw earlier??" I felt much the same here, trying to figure out what Anderson's real game was, who the drunks at the Sir Francis were and why they mattered, what was up with the dueling (or were they?) government departments, and disease-resistant pineapples ought to be a good thing so why the heck are they burning them??

In the end, though, the fact that I didn't understand about 15% of what was going on didn't bother me too much because this is hands down some of the best and most comprehensive world-building I've seen in a long time, and the author does a sterling job of communicating it without ever directly telling the reader anything. It's all lively show, no tell. This means you have to pay attention while you're reading it (see "political machinations" above), of course, but enough clues and/or context are given to you that the unfamiliar all falls naturally into place. The Great Contraction, gene-hack weevils, Grahamites, etc. My favorite bit of sideshow was the cheshires. They don't play a significant role in the story other than to reinforce up the sense of genetic engineering gone crazy, but I WANT ONE.

I was a bit thrown by the sort of bell curve approach to the cast of characters. That is to say, you start out with one or two main characters, eventually there are a whole bunch of them, and then they get weeded down to just one or two (who are completely different than the one or two you started with). It's a little exhausting to get invested in a character only to have them abruptly disappear from the stage. Also I kept wondering what happened to the rest of the world. There is no mention of anywhere else other than Japan and Des Moines. I guess they're too busy dealing with their own gene-hack weevils and blister rust?

So: Was it a good book? Yes: vividly written, speedily paced, engrossingly plotted. Did I enjoy it? No, I cannot say that I did. Visiting this near-future world of genetically engineered diseases, very little food (and most of it suspect), and corporate and government malfeasance was a distinctly unpleasant experience, not least because it's fearsomely plausible. (Not nearly as unpleasant as The People of Sand and Slag, though, which is what I feared. That story traumatized me for weeks.) If you like your science fiction very gritty indeed, you will love this.

As a bonus you get to learn something interesting about the guy who invented graham crackers :) ...more

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Feb 11, 2014 Jenelle Compton rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: science-fiction, apocalyptic-dystopian

I liked this book alright. The ideas were interesting, but I didn't connect with any of the characters and found myself FORCING myself to read up until the last 1/4 of the book, at which point I tore through at break neck speed.

I kept waiting to like the title character, to root for her to go North or whatever, to break out of her subservience. But nope, I didn't care. I didn't care about ANY of the characters. AT ALL. They all appeared to be a bunch of shallow selfish jerks, and by the end I w ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Apr 24, 2011 Mitchell Friedman rated it really liked it

Shelves: library, author-b, liked-reviews, nebula-winner, hugo-winner, four-star, four-star-science-fiction, published-2009, science-fiction, bc-powellssfgroup

The Hugo and Nebula award winning book. A big world book with lots of themes and ideas with lots of skimping on characters. I didn't particularly like the setting though the world is interesting. I actually liked Ship Breaker, a YA book set in the same or similar world quite a bit better. But it definitely had the feel of a Nebula award winning book and I consider this author one worth following. ...more

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May 09, 2011 Dan rated it really liked it

I am having trouble putting into words how I felt about The Windup Girl. It was definitely worth a read and I would recommend this book to post-apocalyptic fans.

Some of the concepts i.e. gene ripping, calorie companies, etc. are fantastic and disturbing.

I believe Bacigalupi did such a good job of telling the story with just the right details at just the right pace I am undervaluing how good the book was.

I will have to think on this book more and update the review later on.

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Dec 25, 2011 Chris Sachnik rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

This is a wonderful book. I think the biggest thing that impressed me was how the author presented the Thai characters in their native voice. It was very impressive to see a westerner tell a story in a consistent, but foreign, point of view. His scenes were beautifully crafted and it was very easy to fall into it.

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Oct 18, 2014 Melanie rated it it was ok

I just could never get into this book or feel anything for the characters. I finished it but felt unsatisfied by the experience only glad to be able to move onto another book.

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