If men like Mr. Bacigalupi occupy the vanguard of the Biopunk sub-genre of science fiction, then this new and promising brand of futuristic, dystopian, subversive fiction is in good hands. Evolved from Cyberpunk which preoccupied itself with the fusion of man and technology, Biopunk imagines a future dominated by genetic engineering of both people and the environment. But while Biopunk may have adopted a new focus, Cyberpunk's fatalistic tone lingers. For even though these genres often depict experiments gone wrong, they are not meant to be warnings. they are developments which cannot be halted. They are inevitabilities we must embrace and not shrink from. They are acknowledgements of our future.
The Windup Girl is set in a 23rd century Thailand ravaged by Global Warming and crop blight resulting from genetically modified food gone wrong. In this post-industrial world of ad hoc technologies and corrupted governments, inter-agency feuds are about as ubiquitous as the out-of-control viruses destroying people and their crops. But while humans can learn to settle their differences, the pests have no cure other than to quarantine and burn, not just the crops but the villages as well, cleansings which inflict grievous, emotional wounds upon their enforcers. The ministries of Trade and Environment are politically dominant for, in this world, there is nothing more important than maintaining the enormous levees which keep back the sea, this while nurturing a sluggish economy which provides jobs for the starving people and funds for the various reclamation projects that will ensure Thailand's survival.
The narrative thrust of the novel is divided between three main actors, each of whom represent one of Mr. Bacigalupi's themes. Lieutenant Kanya, a white-shirt -- an enforcer for the Environment ministry --, embodies the destructive chaos of the ministerial rivalry between Environment and Trade which is killing Thailand. Anderson Lake, a representative for one of the Western companies responsible for the blights, stands in for not only the soullessness of capitalistic greed, but the unwillingness of Western industry to take responsibility for its mistakes, much less to act morally with regard to the developing world. Emiko, the eponymous windup girl, a Japanese-manufactured genetic human, shines light on the complicated moral questions of slavery and servitude unleashed when we inevitably harness the power to engineer humanity. Other characters play prominent roles, representing the dogged pursuit of survival and industry in a world that is both advanced and primitive, but these three prime movers ensure that Mr. Bacigalupi's book is both entertaining and challenging.
There is a great deal of philosophy and social commentary buried in these pages. But it's a credit to the author that these more concrete elements are handled deftly and seamlessly. I never felt hammered over the head by Mr. Bacigalupi's politics. A slightly bloated but riveting tale of a struggle to survive free in a world sheathed in darkness. (4/5 Stars)
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