A review by manuphoto
The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi

adventurous challenging dark medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

An interesting concept, but I’m not a fan of the execution. The world building feels forced, it doesn’t flow well. The characters are OK but often stereotypical and not always well developed.

The plot is fine but it never really becomes engrossing. The writing is also decent, although Bacigalupi throws in too many words in italics to make for a smooth read.

The criticism of colonialism and capitalism is done in a very on the nose manner, with Thai characters literally telling to white guys “you have exploited us for centuries, it made us angry and resentful”. While I agree that these behaviours should be condemned, I prefer a “show don’t tell approach”. Have us see the ill effects instead of having exposition dumps by characters. It just seems lazy to me.

There is also a study of “what it means to be human”, which is a great theme to tackle in science-fiction. But here, again, it’s very on the nose, not subtle at all, and it’s quite superficial. It just doesn’t feel that well thought out, more like a blast of all the negativity that racism, sexism, slavery, colonialism & co. can produce. Yeah, those are bad… but you’re not bringing anything to the table here by just shouting “slavery is bad”. It just seems to me that an author should be able to convey more of the feelings and consequences that such horrible acts provoke.

And I get it, Thailand in the Summer is hot, you don’t need to remind me almost every page (even though the heat is an serious issue for one of the main characters). It’s like setting your story in space and reminding the reader every other paragraph that the characters are floating around and can’t go out without dying. I-get-it.

There are some very good chapters in the second half of the novel, sections that were real page turners. It didn’t make up for the whole novel, but it has to be said.

Despite a couple of hard scenes (including a rape scene at the beginning, be aware), I didn’t find this novel tough to read per se, but it will also not stay with me, despite its important themes. I think it was trying to achieve too many things in one novel and it got lost along the way. The whole thing is intriguing, but incoherent I’m afraid.

This novel certainly didn’t make want to read more from this author; maybe I’ll revisit him in a few years. It’s not terrible, but it’s not great either. I’m surprised it won the Hugo, especially tied with The City & The City.
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