As of now, The Windup Girl is, in my opinion, the most difficult book we’ve read in this class. That’s including taking in all of the politics and science that make up Forty Signs of Rain. Not only is the the world completely different in the book, but all of the technology and the characters all seem to mush together to make up the story. This left me feeling kind of uneasy about this novel, but part of me thinks that I would’ve enjoyed it more if I had more time to read it and really understand it.
The biggest obstacle I had was actually reading through the first hundred pages or so. I had a ridiculously difficult time trying to picture and understand the world that Paolo Bacigalupi created to set his story in. It’s highly technologic, yet it also seems like a lot of the technology has also devolved. It’s a really interesting kind of science fiction, but we’re just thrown right into the story without anytime to really figure out what kind of setting we’re stepping into.
So, while I think Bacigalupi’s approach to the story in The Windup Girl could have been done better, it’s still a really interesting and intriguing story full of everything you could want with a novel. There’s betrayals, unlikely friendship, violence, and loads of imagination. I said before that I would have enjoyed this book a lot more if I had more time to read it and that’s what’s been really preying on my mind. There’s so much corporate and military intrigue taking place in a world I don’t quite understand, but would like to fully appreciate.
The Windup Girl is definitely not an easy book, but the themes, characters, and science mixed with the imagination make it one to be remembered… and possibly even baffled by.
