The Windup Girl
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- Create Date：2021-08-27 09:55:42
- Update Date：2025-09-07
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- Author：Paolo Bacigalupi
- ISBN：1597808210
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Summary
Anderson Lake is a company man， AgriGen's Calorie Man in Thailand。 Under cover as a factory manager， Anderson combs Bangkok's street markets in search of foodstuffs thought to be extinct， hoping to reap the bounty of history's lost calories。 There， he encounters Emiko。。。
Emiko is the Windup Girl， a strange and beautiful creature。 One of the New People， Emiko is not human; instead， she is an engineered being， creche-grown and programmed to satisfy the decadent whims of a Kyoto businessman， but now abandoned to the streets of Bangkok。 Regarded as soulless beings by some， devils by others， New People are slaves， soldiers， and toys of the rich in a chilling near future in which calorie companies rule the world， the oil age has passed， and the side effects of bio-engineered plagues run rampant across the globe。
What Happens when calories become currency？ What happens when bio-terrorism becomes a tool for corporate profits， when said bio-terrorism's genetic drift forces mankind to the cusp of post-human evolution？ Award-winning author Paolo Bacigalupi delivers one of the most highly acclaimed science fiction novels of the twenty-first century。
Emiko is the Windup Girl， a strange and beautiful creature。 One of the New People， Emiko is not human; instead， she is an engineered being， creche-grown and programmed to satisfy the decadent whims of a Kyoto businessman， but now abandoned to the streets of Bangkok。 Regarded as soulless beings by some， devils by others， New People are slaves， soldiers， and toys of the rich in a chilling near future in which calorie companies rule the world， the oil age has passed， and the side effects of bio-engineered plagues run rampant across the globe。
What Happens when calories become currency？ What happens when bio-terrorism becomes a tool for corporate profits， when said bio-terrorism's genetic drift forces mankind to the cusp of post-human evolution？ Award-winning author Paolo Bacigalupi delivers one of the most highly acclaimed science fiction novels of the twenty-first century。
Reviews
Degenerate Chemist
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 So this book is representative of all the things I hate about the sci fi genre。 It hooks you with an interesting concept and then you spend the rest of the novel getting hit in the face with the authors racism and sexism。 oooh， and terrible writing。Orientalism- this book has it in droves。 It's not something you can ignore either given the novels setting。 You will spend your time tripping over Asian Stereotypes。Sexism- Emiko gets sexually abused for the entertainment of bar patrons in the first 1 So this book is representative of all the things I hate about the sci fi genre。 It hooks you with an interesting concept and then you spend the rest of the novel getting hit in the face with the authors racism and sexism。 oooh， and terrible writing。Orientalism- this book has it in droves。 It's not something you can ignore either given the novels setting。 You will spend your time tripping over Asian Stereotypes。Sexism- Emiko gets sexually abused for the entertainment of bar patrons in the first 100 chapters。 The encounter is detailed。 There was also really no reason for it to be in the novel。 We are told explicitly she is a sex worker。 We know the world she comes from is harsh and cruel。 So this scene is really on there for spectacle。 Characters are dull with no defining characteristics。 I had no idea who anyone was or why I should care about them。 The prose is awful- I could barely pay attention to what was happening and found my eyes drifting off the page every 30s。 The basic plot is interesting， but I had so much trouble focusing on it I just went to wikipedia to look up the summary。 I have to say the fact that this book won so many awards is mind boggling。 This is why no one respects sci fi as a genre。 。。。more
Melissa Le
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Confusing start but there's quite the story in there eventually Confusing start but there's quite the story in there eventually 。。。more
Ann
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Too violent。 Just too horrible。 Profoundly unpleasant。 I wish I hadn’t kept reading it。
Alvaro_atm92
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It is slow， but I like the world that the author created and I loved the fact of different independent stories that in some point go together。 And liked the ending ;）
Carter
，
This， for me， has some rather， interesting characteristics; it is a book， marketed， to be on the level of Gibson's Neuromancer。 The elements much like， Gibson's groundbreaking novel， where the idioms， allegory， and metaphorical echoes， are constructed， with an entirely new language， and flavour- to some extent exist here。 However， it is not through odd comparisons， this is done but the use， of language， from major asian countries， and the cultural inflections， that create the resonances。 For Gib This， for me， has some rather， interesting characteristics; it is a book， marketed， to be on the level of Gibson's Neuromancer。 The elements much like， Gibson's groundbreaking novel， where the idioms， allegory， and metaphorical echoes， are constructed， with an entirely new language， and flavour- to some extent exist here。 However， it is not through odd comparisons， this is done but the use， of language， from major asian countries， and the cultural inflections， that create the resonances。 For Gibson， this was Nippon; Bacigalupi， uses a mix of three or four。。。 Instead of cyber， it is biotech。。。 。。。more
Pip
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It's definitely not what I expected。 There's a lot of interesting ideas here but some work well and some don't。 It was a long tough read because it has a very cynical/oppressive mood。 The future of mankind is a fractured world teetering on the edge of complete collapse due to food shortages and disease。 It's filled with fanatical nationalism/racism/xenophobia/sex trade/nonstop corruption/and plain old cruelty。 Pretty much everyone in the book is a victim of something and a perpetrator of their b It's definitely not what I expected。 There's a lot of interesting ideas here but some work well and some don't。 It was a long tough read because it has a very cynical/oppressive mood。 The future of mankind is a fractured world teetering on the edge of complete collapse due to food shortages and disease。 It's filled with fanatical nationalism/racism/xenophobia/sex trade/nonstop corruption/and plain old cruelty。 Pretty much everyone in the book is a victim of something and a perpetrator of their bad fortune onto others。 It has a lot of mixed in flavor words from Japanese/Chinese/Thai which I disliked at first， but came to like more the more I read it （especially the deliciously disgust filled words about Western foreigners）。 I'm a fan of a good dystopia book， but I think what ultimately led me to marking this down to three stars was the sort of lackluster ending。 The character threads all tie up， but it didn't feel satisfying。 I suppose it's a realistic/non-happy ending， but it made me wonder if I still cared about what really happens to any of the characters。 By the end of the book， not particularly。It's a book about the failure of the human experiment。 Of unquenchable greed for power and wealth being the killing blow to millennia of struggles and progress of the human race。 For that， I think it's a worthy read to just about everyone， it's just a very unpleasant pill to swallow because it exposes a lot of the ugliness of humanity。 。。。more
Taseen Muhtadi
，
“That is the nature of our beasts and plagues。 They are not dumb machines to be driven about。 They have their own needs and hungers。 Their own evolutionary demands。 They must mutate and adapt…。”-- Paolo BacigalupiThis book requires a lot of patience from it’s readers。 It got off to a stuttering start before getting into it’s stride towards the middle。 Even then it is not an easy read to breeze through。I found the first part of the book quite hard to get through。 The world building is intrica “That is the nature of our beasts and plagues。 They are not dumb machines to be driven about。 They have their own needs and hungers。 Their own evolutionary demands。 They must mutate and adapt…。”-- Paolo BacigalupiThis book requires a lot of patience from it’s readers。 It got off to a stuttering start before getting into it’s stride towards the middle。 Even then it is not an easy read to breeze through。I found the first part of the book quite hard to get through。 The world building is intricate and it took me a while to understand those intricacies。 The authour paints bleak future for humanity。 That in itself is not unique， but environmental crises playing such a major part of the plot lends it a refreshing feel。 The book's premise is set around the collapse of ecological systems due to genetic engineering。 There are pros and cons of genetic engineering， in this book the authour presents what may come to pass if the inherent greed of humans is allowed to run amok with the technology。 It’s a well formed argument and I can see why many would regard this book so highly。 The authour is also very good at capturing the seedy underbelly of society。The character work is good。 Emiko’s character arc is great， if a little formulaic。 Despite having the book named after her， I didn’t feel like Emiko really made things happen。 For me， Kanya’s arc was more impressive。 The path she walks as more and more difficult choices are placed before her and watching her turn into the woman she becomes is superbly written。 This is not a book where one character does all the work。 There are several multi-layered characters， all with their own motivations and drives。 All their lives are interlocked but they are well defined enough to feel like independent beings。 The authour’s ability to turn these disparate lives to tell a complete story shows his skill。 Sadly we don't get any conclusive ending to most of the characters' arcs， most are left vague; we only have clear knowledge of the dead characters。This is a challenging book to read。 It’s challenging due to the intricate world building， due to the subtle arguments presented through the plot。 So it’s challenging in a creative way。 And it is packed full of energetic ideas。 It takes a gifted writer to bring it all together。 Would have been better if the plot was a bit more streamlined。 But otherwise a great book to read。 。。。more
David Seidman
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The book is set in an interesting world， a future where climate change and the end of fossil fuels has turned calories into a key commodity， fueling the animals and people who have replaced machinery。 Disease runs rampant。 The world is finely detailed and a great setting， with the potential to say interesting things about our potential future。 Unfortunately， the characters are pretty stereotypical: the shrewd company man， the oppressed sex worker， the refugee who survives at all cost。 Perhaps th The book is set in an interesting world， a future where climate change and the end of fossil fuels has turned calories into a key commodity， fueling the animals and people who have replaced machinery。 Disease runs rampant。 The world is finely detailed and a great setting， with the potential to say interesting things about our potential future。 Unfortunately， the characters are pretty stereotypical: the shrewd company man， the oppressed sex worker， the refugee who survives at all cost。 Perhaps they develop more depth later in the book。 I stopped reading 1/3 of the way through because I was bored stiff。 Basically nothing had happened by that point - all talk， no action。 I felt like this book totally failed to deliver on its potential。 Too bad。 。。。more
Leo de Goris Jedrzejowski
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Don't get me wrong。 It's a Hugo and nebula award winning book。 Fast paced brutal。 The ugly moments are as ugly as you like。 Interesting。 But left me feeling meh。 Looking forward to another book now I'm free of it。 Don't get me wrong。 It's a Hugo and nebula award winning book。 Fast paced brutal。 The ugly moments are as ugly as you like。 Interesting。 But left me feeling meh。 Looking forward to another book now I'm free of it。 。。。more
Gumps
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Very interesting view of the world， and what it could become。 Probably my favorite part of the story。 Unfortunately， the story was really nothing more than a way to introduce and highlight this potential future world。 And thought the characters were distinct and well defined， none of them were really all that liekable。 I was a bit disappointed overall。
Swirlgirl
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I really tried with this book， I read way past the point where I felt that sense of annoyed apathy， only to discover there were no uptakes in sight。I feel Paolo （probably not consciously， but here we are） fell feet first into a cesspit of misogyny and racist tropes。 I could write a long list of ways in which he， in my opinion， rather offensively embraces the white saviour concept and leaves all the natives to their morally bankrupt ways。 Did he follow through on this trope？ I don't know， because I really tried with this book， I read way past the point where I felt that sense of annoyed apathy， only to discover there were no uptakes in sight。I feel Paolo （probably not consciously， but here we are） fell feet first into a cesspit of misogyny and racist tropes。 I could write a long list of ways in which he， in my opinion， rather offensively embraces the white saviour concept and leaves all the natives to their morally bankrupt ways。 Did he follow through on this trope？ I don't know， because I couldn't finish it。He also makes all the female characters subservient， like， *sigh*， they all have to be frightened/sexy/innocent/silent and/or eager to please。 The worst being the "windup" which honestly could have been an interesting character， but instead is a very very hot person （brought attention to many times） who walks funny （if I read the words stutter stop one more time。。。） and who just MUST obey！ Please， oh please， please！I'm just not the audience for this book。 。。。more
Irene Money
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Leanne recommended it。
Kevin Phyland
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In Thailand， in a future recovering from the ravages of the Contraction - plague diseases of crops and animals - and rising sea levels from a warming globe， and where flywheel energy and biogas rule， a number of clandestine operations are taking place。 Representatives of gene-seed companies who sell sterile grain are meeting with people from the Environment Ministry to obtain new gene-modified foods like the mysterious new fruit appearing on Bangkok streets。 Into this hotbed of intrigue comes Em In Thailand， in a future recovering from the ravages of the Contraction - plague diseases of crops and animals - and rising sea levels from a warming globe， and where flywheel energy and biogas rule， a number of clandestine operations are taking place。 Representatives of gene-seed companies who sell sterile grain are meeting with people from the Environment Ministry to obtain new gene-modified foods like the mysterious new fruit appearing on Bangkok streets。 Into this hotbed of intrigue comes Emiko， a tank-bred girl designed originally as a geisha-substitute for Japanese businessmen but abandoned years ago to a life of degradation as a sex-animal for jaded roues。 Known as windups， they are forbidden tech in Thailand but bribes from her owner keep her working her drudge existence。 When the head of the Thai Queen’s security is murdered and his bodyguards， suspicion falls on an illegal military windup。 Emiko must flee into hiding， seeking a rumoured place in the jungle where the New People live by themselves， but opportunistic factions start a revolution which imperils everybody。 Paolo Bacigalupi has given us a stunningly immersive novel which is RECOMMENDED。 。。。more
Andrew Lantos
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This was a fantastic sciFi book。 Quick-paced and Engaging。 Set in a future dystopian Thailand。 The main characters were well-developed and interesting。
Phil Jensen
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Read in 2021， a lot of the predictions in this book are coming true:* Companies owning the patents to food* Climate change causing flooding and unpredictable storms* Diseases scourging humanityThings that have not come true yet would be all the G-Mod and the downfall of most soverereign countries。 Also， we are still using fossil fuels。I liked the concept of the Contraction when the fuel supply chains break down and having to use cranks for their electricity。 It felt a little off that they had no Read in 2021， a lot of the predictions in this book are coming true:* Companies owning the patents to food* Climate change causing flooding and unpredictable storms* Diseases scourging humanityThings that have not come true yet would be all the G-Mod and the downfall of most soverereign countries。 Also， we are still using fossil fuels。I liked the concept of the Contraction when the fuel supply chains break down and having to use cranks for their electricity。 It felt a little off that they had no personal computers or internet， though。This book was the right level of grim for the content， but still a bit more grim than I was in the mood for。 。。。more
Amy
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This was the second attempt。 The first one， I stopped at the rape scene early on。 The premise was interesting （corps patenting disease-proof crops， etc。）， but the titular character was every awful stereotype possible。 Her personality/conflict literally boiled down to "I am programmed to serve but want to be free"。 That's it。 There's more time spent on how she's sexually abused than original character development。Basically， fuck this book。 This was the second attempt。 The first one， I stopped at the rape scene early on。 The premise was interesting （corps patenting disease-proof crops， etc。）， but the titular character was every awful stereotype possible。 Her personality/conflict literally boiled down to "I am programmed to serve but want to be free"。 That's it。 There's more time spent on how she's sexually abused than original character development。Basically， fuck this book。 。。。more
Brian Chenault
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Took me 100 pages or so to get into this （and to figure out that looking up the Thai words and slang was useful） but once I did， what a ride。 Paolo doesn't beat you over the head with the concepts he's working with， he just focuses on the characters， which I appreciated。 Took me 100 pages or so to get into this （and to figure out that looking up the Thai words and slang was useful） but once I did， what a ride。 Paolo doesn't beat you over the head with the concepts he's working with， he just focuses on the characters， which I appreciated。 。。。more
M。i。
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A fantastic book， on a future that could very well be on the horizon for us。 The world building is solid and so are the characters who all seem to have some secret or the other。 I like books that rankle me， especially the way it ends。 I don't agree with how it works out for certain characters but its also understandable based on the world we live in。 A fantastic book， on a future that could very well be on the horizon for us。 The world building is solid and so are the characters who all seem to have some secret or the other。 I like books that rankle me， especially the way it ends。 I don't agree with how it works out for certain characters but its also understandable based on the world we live in。 。。。more
Emily Newhart
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After renewing this book from the library multiple times， and only having got to 34% in all that time。 I've come to the realization that it's not me it's the Book。 I think that the world and the characters are fine。 But I really didn't have anything to pull me along in the story。 Nothing to keep me coming back for more。A couple of the side characters （White Shirts） that get a POV for some reason were boring to me and I was just trying to quickly get through their parts so I could get back to And After renewing this book from the library multiple times， and only having got to 34% in all that time。 I've come to the realization that it's not me it's the Book。 I think that the world and the characters are fine。 But I really didn't have anything to pull me along in the story。 Nothing to keep me coming back for more。A couple of the side characters （White Shirts） that get a POV for some reason were boring to me and I was just trying to quickly get through their parts so I could get back to Anderson， Honk Seng， & Emiko。 But even those characters didn't have me wanting more。 There was this one scene at the beginning of the book where Anderson had to kill an out-of-control animal， where I thought 'ok， now this is getting interesting'， but I was wrong。 I think it was the writing that killed this book for me。 I read the summary on Wikipedia and I swear the wiki summary is a 100x more interesting than the actual book。If you think I should give it another chance you're welcome to try to convince me to give it another shot。 maybe in a couple years。 。。。more
Emma
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I didn’t particularly like or enjoy this book。 It was grim， dark， cold， depressing。 So the stars are for the concepts and story which was executed well。 Just not my taste
Carrie
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I enjoyed The Water Knife and love The Tangled Lands。 This book was not good。 It should have been a DNF but I kept going because I liked his other stuff so much。 The timeline， the planetary situation， the politics。。。 are not explained well enough to get most of the characters motivations。 It never gets clearer。 I should have set it aside。
Brandon Rebel
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Cool concept that weaves story and setting into a life-like read。
Miranda W。
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I made it through two thirds of this book but I just couldn't get any further。 It seems like something I would really love， and there were parts of it that I enjoyed - hence the 2 stars， "it was ok。" For instance， having lived in Bangkok I really appreciated the post-apocalyptic Bangkok that echoes plenty of modern-day Bangkok。 I enjoyed a lot of the world-building （something like tech noire？ - edit: I guess this is called biopunk） and there was a lot of great imagery （actual Cheshire cats）。 I l I made it through two thirds of this book but I just couldn't get any further。 It seems like something I would really love， and there were parts of it that I enjoyed - hence the 2 stars， "it was ok。" For instance， having lived in Bangkok I really appreciated the post-apocalyptic Bangkok that echoes plenty of modern-day Bangkok。 I enjoyed a lot of the world-building （something like tech noire？ - edit: I guess this is called biopunk） and there was a lot of great imagery （actual Cheshire cats）。 I listened to the audiobook and the narration was great， even with Thai words。 All of this points to something that would be right up my alley， and maybe I was expecting something other than what this was - something that would treat this foreign world with complexity and nuance。 However， it fell very short of these expectations and it frequently felt like the fever dream of farang tourist who only visits red-light districts while on a desperate search for a Thai Girlfriend （having lived in Bangkok， I know the type）。 I was really excited that this was set in Thailand， but Thai people are basically just a background character （yes - a single character - lazy Thais）。 Even the title character plays a minor role and is barely fleshed out。 There were far more misogynistic， orientalist vibes than I'm comfortable with and eventually I just couldn't go on。 After a while it felt like I was stuck in a （very male-oriented） video game。 But there's more to Bangkok than sex and grit。 I had hoped for a post-apocalypse from a non-white， non-western view， but this seemed to be just another white， western post-apocalypse that happened to be set in Thailand。 Not a bad read， necessarily， but not a good read for me。 。。。more
Hellread
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（view spoiler）[It a rich world with an intertwined story of many levels。 Not sure how to describe it non-pretentiously。 It's all interesting， it doesn't cuddle you and dumps you into the world， which is both good and bad。 There is a lot of ideas， lots of world-building， but it's also terribly slow and reveals are so tiny。 There are so many futuristic cool ideas and great steampunky ideas。 All the characters feel real with goals and flaws and all the things that many works skip。 If anything， ther （view spoiler）[It a rich world with an intertwined story of many levels。 Not sure how to describe it non-pretentiously。 It's all interesting， it doesn't cuddle you and dumps you into the world， which is both good and bad。 There is a lot of ideas， lots of world-building， but it's also terribly slow and reveals are so tiny。 There are so many futuristic cool ideas and great steampunky ideas。 All the characters feel real with goals and flaws and all the things that many works skip。 If anything， there's too much character stuff going on it， it's just too dense。 The whole overarching corporation stuff is great and contrast with day-today world is awesome。 The book ends up teasing you way too much instead of telling you things。 The payoff is almost painful。 （hide spoiler）] 。。。more
Keith Crawford
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Genetically engineered crops and plagues have wiped out the greater portion of the world’s agriculture， ending the era of great nations and open borders as humanity struggles to survive the latest pestilence。 Anderson Lake is a company man trying to discover the secrets of Thailand’s success， one of the few relatively civilised nations remaining。 Jaidee is an incorruptible head of the White Shirts， protecting the nation from potentially toxic illegal imports。 Hock Seng is a “yellow card”， a once Genetically engineered crops and plagues have wiped out the greater portion of the world’s agriculture， ending the era of great nations and open borders as humanity struggles to survive the latest pestilence。 Anderson Lake is a company man trying to discover the secrets of Thailand’s success， one of the few relatively civilised nations remaining。 Jaidee is an incorruptible head of the White Shirts， protecting the nation from potentially toxic illegal imports。 Hock Seng is a “yellow card”， a once wealthy Chinese refugee from a violent uprising that murdered his family。 Their lives will be turned upside-down by of Emiko， a “windup girl”， an android， a sex-slave， and the person who may be about to start a revolution。Did that all sound complicated？ Well， it is。 The world-building in this book is incredible， and the sheer scope of Bacigalupi’s imagination makes up for all sorts of difficulties。 For example， all the characters are racist。 It makes sense for the story， but it’s hard to like them！ Having endowed us with a super-complicated world， the author then reaches for the literary stars by using third person present: “Lake reaches for the glass。” Great for judges of literary prizes， not great for readers trying to understand the fourteenth made up word on the page。 Finally， we have the magically wonder girl， whose voyeuristic sexual abuse is excused because it gets her superpowers， and she has her revenge。 Nope， never heard that trope before。Why am I being so super harsh on this book？ Because if any of these things in the early chapters put you off， stick with it。 As the story hurtles into the final act you come to care about these characters， murderous gits or not。 This book grows from imaginative world building to powerful character stuff – it has things to say， and things that will stay with you。 Bacigalupi has taken risks with style， form， format and character， and they pay off。 。。。more
Sue Stauffer
，
Probably the best book I've read all year。 It takes a while to get going; the first 70-100 pages are a bit of a slog but after that， simply outstanding。 So many issues woven into this story but not preachy at all。 Makes you think about what makes us human and are we really as much better as we think we are， and the possible consequences if our own hubris。 So very good。 You need to read this book。 To quote the great Moid Moidelhoff， "I bloody love the end of the world！" Probably the best book I've read all year。 It takes a while to get going; the first 70-100 pages are a bit of a slog but after that， simply outstanding。 So many issues woven into this story but not preachy at all。 Makes you think about what makes us human and are we really as much better as we think we are， and the possible consequences if our own hubris。 So very good。 You need to read this book。 To quote the great Moid Moidelhoff， "I bloody love the end of the world！" 。。。more
Cailin Deery
，
The Windup Girl is a ‘biopunk’ sci-fi novel set several hundred years in the future in Bangkok。 In this world， fossilized petroleum has run out， GMOs have ruined the world， many megacities have been wiped out from flooding， and people live amongst various engineered creatures， the result of more tinkering。 The titular character is engineered and human-like， and I guess the premise is that you understand her to be objectified and inhumanely designed， so this story is an opportunity to give her pe The Windup Girl is a ‘biopunk’ sci-fi novel set several hundred years in the future in Bangkok。 In this world， fossilized petroleum has run out， GMOs have ruined the world， many megacities have been wiped out from flooding， and people live amongst various engineered creatures， the result of more tinkering。 The titular character is engineered and human-like， and I guess the premise is that you understand her to be objectified and inhumanely designed， so this story is an opportunity to give her perspective， dimension， humanity。 However， the author just continues to objectify her with the creepiest， leeriest descriptions of her body and sexual abuse。 The Windup Girl is easily the most male-gazey book I can remember coming across。On the face of it， the novel weaves together many varied groups: ministries， Thai royalty， ‘white shirts’， ‘calorie men’ （GMO representatives）， various ethnicities （Chinese， Vietnamese， Malaysian， Thai， Japanese， American）， as well as classes with the windups or ‘yellow headbands。’ Each culture is represented by a stereotypical character straight from central casting: the opportunistic， sneaky， racist Chinese man; honorable， techy Japanese; a kind of Japanese geisha; the ambitious and cunning American businessman; the genius American scientist。 It’s boring， it’s tired， and – don’t even think I need to say it - racist。 I haven’t read a great deal of science fiction， but this was underdeveloped and sloppy。 I’m shocked that it split the big awards of the year with The City & The City， because the latter is both accomplished and conceptually very interesting， while this novel is flat and forgettable。Do not waste your time。 。。。more
Andrew Wardenaar
，
This book needs trigger warnings！ It has very graphic descriptions of rape， war， and police brutality。 It is absolutely worth reading though。
Scot Northern
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DNF - 100 pages in and I can’t take another one。 There isn’t any world building， it’s been built and you are dropped in with no explanation and no clue。 As the story progresses， it’s hard to find a thread of continuity。 I couldn’t even tell you who was the protagonist。 How did this book win any awards？
Tahlia
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DNF - I couldn’t even get 100 pages into this book I was so bored。 All of these new terms and roles weren’t properly introduced so any time they were talking about the calorie people or whatever I was just sooo confused， to the point that I didn’t even understand what the character’s purposes were。 I didn’t feel invested in the story at all and I can’t make myself trudge through 500 pages of what felt like an eternity reading the first part of the story。 Not for me。
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Windup Girl
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Windup Girl&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,The Windup Girl&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0