The Windup Girl

Date

2009

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Volume Title

Publisher

Night Shade Books

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Abstract

The narrative takes place in the 23rd century, where Earth no longer has sufficient resources, climate change has become a serious threat, and illnesses spread all over the world. Bioengineering has been deemed necessary to produce food, and big corporations fund armies and use bioterrorism to create a market for their products. Only Thailand seems to be able to withstand the influence and control of these corporations, keeping a reserve of viable seeds and thus preserving what the Earth can still give. Anderson Lake, the protagonist, works in one of the megacorporations (AgriGen) and has the mission to discover the location of Thailand’s seedbank, so as to extend the influence of AgriGen in the place. Lake’s journey reveals more particularities about this dystopian future, especially the existence of genetically engineered humans that serve as companions and servants, like the windup girls that give the novel its title. This story demonstrates how scientific experiments that fall within the field of bioengineering can be developed and posteriorly used to gain economic, social and political advantage, as well as putting into question what it means to be human.

Description

Keywords

bioengineering , climate change , posthumanism

Citation

Bacigalupi, Paolo. The Windup Girl. Night Shade Books, 2009.