Pablo Bacigalupi – The Windup Girl

Finished: December 16, 2011

2011 Book Count: 62

This was a pretty incredible read, and one of the most convincing speculative fiction novels I have ever read. I hesitate a little to call it science fiction, even though literally speaking that is exactly what it is, because it’s all just so darn plausible. Perhaps even more than plausible.

It’s about the aftermath of a food and energy crisis (there are no more fossil fuels, or anywhere a very small amount, and most crops are susceptible to a variety of diseases fatal to humans), and, what I thought was a completely brilliant stroke, set in Thailand.

Thailand is an absolutely perfect location for this story. It could have worked somewhere else in Asia or perhaps Africa, but it wouldn’t have been nearly such a successful or original work if it were set in North America*. But there is something about the exoticism of Thailand and their isolationist history, not to mention the inherent respect that most of us have for the idea that during an ecological disaster, Thailand has some very special things to protect. It also brings a little bit of magic (not really magic, just the figurative kind) to a rather bleak imagining of the future. Also, Bangkok is one of my favourite cities on the planet and I love to read about it.

You can tell that this is a definite ‘what if’ book – that Mr. Bacigalupi took his idea and was so exquisitely thorough with it, and asserts the findings of his thought experiment with such conviction that very early on in the story the situation stops becoming a question of ‘it could happen’ to ‘it is going to happen’. And what is going to happen is that genetic engineering is going to both starve and save us.

China Mieville does a very similar thing in his writing, but perhaps Mr. Bacigalupi appears to be more thorough and grounded because the ideas that he is processing are practical and topical, rather than theoretical and fantastical. They are both masters of their chosen art forms, however, and would never, ever choose one over the other.

This is definitely a book to check out. It’s won a million awards and with very good reason. Mr. Bacigalupi has really created something here – and it’s a real joy to stroll through it with him.

Also, his world is run over by camouflage cats. Like I said, it’s love.

*Though his other novel Shipbreaker is set in North America and that works very well because the situation leads one to believe that they are in the third world, so when it is revealed they are in North America, it is something of a humbling moment.