The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi

Synopsis

Anderson Lake is a company man, AgriGen's calorie representative in Thailand. Under cover as a factory manager, he combs Bangkok's street markets in search of foodstuffs long thought to be extinct. There he meets the windup girl - the beautiful and enigmatic Emiko - now abandoned to the slums. She is one of the New People, bred to suit the whims of the rich. Engineered as slaves, soldiers and toys, they are the new underclass in a chilling near future where oil has run out, calorie companies dominate nations and bio-engineered plagues run rampant across the globe. And as Lake becomes increasingly obsessed with Emiko, conspiracies breed in the heat and political tensions threaten to spiral out of control. Businessmen and ministry officials, wealthy foreigners and landless refugees all have their own agendas. But no one anticipates the devastating influence of the Windup Girl.

This astonishing debut novel was named 9th best book of 2009 in TIME magazine. It won the Nebula award for Best Novel, was joint-winner for the Hugo award for Best Novel (a tie with China Miéville's The City and The City [which we've already read] and a plethora of other awards. It has been nominated for the 2010 British Science Fiction Award for Best Novel, results pending.

What Did We Think?

The first thing to point out is that despite the emphasis on Anderson Lake in the above synopsis, this novel doesn't really have a protagonist. There is no set "main character" but rather an ensemble cast of multiple characters whose lives intertwine and crossover to varying degrees. Another thing to note is that none of these characters are what we could call "good guys", there are no heroes in Bacigalupi's world. By the end of the novel we felt sorry for pretty much everyone because whilst there are no truly good people there are no truly evil people either (except perhaps the faceless organisations behind the scenes). The character development was subtle and effective. Despite hopping from character to character we never lost track of where we were or what was going on, something helped by the novel's strong pacing.

It was not universal praise as far as the characters were concerned however. The author's emphasis on Emiko (the eponymous Windup Girl) as a sexual object was hard hitting, especially in the rape scenes, but understandable. However, there were moments when we're alone with the character, inside her mind, and this emphasis on sexuality continues. This was problematic as it sends confusing  messages to the reader about how they should feel about Emiko. The worst instance of this was the "showering" scenes on the roof top where the flow of water and soap is described too sensually, detracting from the fact that this girl has just been violently and horrifically sexually assaulted and raped. That said, it was argued that Emiko's is the most effective character arc, that she grows more than any other character and, from some perspectives, comes closest to having a happy ending at the close of the novel as she is offered a possibility for something she never dreamed possible [he says edgily trying to spoil anything for those who have yet to read it].

This is a dystopia, the word biopunk has been bandied around, and it bears more than a passing resemblance to Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood (discussed by this book club already) thematically at least. More than anything this is a capitalist dystopia with layers of big business dominance, union politics, and the kind of arrogance we've come to see from our own capitalist leaders. This is also a rare example of a trade war being made to sound interesting in fiction.

Overall, The Windup Girl is a wonderfully written book, which evokes place and mood with a skill far beyond most debut novelists. It has interesting and relevant themes and realistically flawed characters that we can enjoy. Whilst almost everything is kept in a morally grey area (as in most dystopian fiction) - with the possible exception of Jaidee who casts a long shadow on the plot, despite being dead for most of it - this allows the reader to enjoy the plot without feeling put-upon and to form their own opinions. Bacigalupi mixes real science with touches of magical realism (the Cheshires, the ghosts) and a flavour of the far-east that comes across as genuine.

  

Votes were as follows: 1, 7, 8, 8, 8 ,8, 9, 9, 10

   

One by Conrad Williams

Synopsis

This is the United Kingdom, but it's no country you know. No place you ever want to see, even in the shuttered madness of your worst dreams. But you survived. One man. You walk because you have no choice. At the end of this molten road, running along the spine of a burned, battered country, your little boy is either alive or dead. You have to know. You have to find an end to it all. One hope. The sky crawls with venomous cloud and burning rain. The land is a scorched sprawl of rubble and corpses. Rats have risen from the depths to gorge on the carrion. A glittering dust coats everything and it hides a terrible secret. New horrors are taking root. You walk on. One chance.

One won the BFS Award for Best Novel in 2010.

What Did We Think?

Very much a novel of two halves (literally). The first half was seen as being exciting fun science fictional post-apocalyptic horror with powerful imagery and realistic and interesting situations and emotions from the survivors.

The second half however fell foul of many of the group as it was seen as being more fantastical and less plausible than the first. Whilst the emotions still felt genuine the situation did not and the finale left too many issues unsatisfactorily resolved for many: crucially the enigma of Jane's guardian angel.

Overall, the novel was superbly well written with many a wonderful turn of phrase and impressed even the non-horror fans in the group, however the second half just wasn't the cup-of-tea of enough people in the group and so the book's score suffered because of it.

Votes were as follows: 5, 6, 6, 7, 7, 7, 7, 8

Events Reminder

Hi all,

I know, I know - I haven't been as good to this blog as it deserves and there are far too many [coming soon] sections dotted around. But I hope you're all well and looking forward to the next discussion session on Feb 7th.

Before then I have two pieces of event news to pass along which I thought would be relevant.

First off - FRIDAY 28th JANUARY (that's this Friday) is Twisted Tales #3. Horror readings by great published authors. What makes this one notable for you guys though is that the headline act is Conrad Williams, winner of the 2010 British Fantasy Award for Best Novel - and that novel is One, the next book on our reading list. If you want to come along, hear him read a short story, ask some questions about One, or anything else, and get your book(s) signed then by all means come along. Tickets are £2 each but that includes entry to a prize draw to win some pretty brilliant prizes, plus anything you buy on the night you get £2 off (thus making your money back instantly - bargain). The event starts at 6pm.

Hope to see you all there.

The second event is a signing by Joe Abercrombie on WEDNESDAY 2nd FEBRUARY. Joe's fiction is gritty fantasy in a similar vein to The Steel Remains which we read way back in November 2009. A friend of mine who is somewhat of an expert in these things (he's doing his PhD in Fantasy Literature) cites Joe Abercrombie as 'the natural successor to Gemmell... just with a little more grit, moral ambiguity and believable military.' So if that sounds like your cup of tea, or something you might be interested in then you should come along. He'll be signing copies of his new book The Heroes which is the first in a new series so a nice place to start with his fiction. However he'll also be happy to sign anything you bring from his back catalogue too so go crazy and buy the lot! The signing starts at 12.30 and will go on for as long as it can.

The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss

Synopsis

'I have stolen princesses back from sleeping barrow kings. I burned down the town of Trebon. I have spent the night with Felurian and left with both my sanity and my life. I was expelled from the University at a younger age than most people are allowed in. I tread paths by moonlight that others fear to speak of during day. I have talked to Gods, loved women, and written songs that make the minstrels weep. My name is Kvothe. You may have heard of me' So begins the tale of Kvothe - currently known as Kote, the unassuming innkeepter - from his childhood in a troupe of traveling players, through his years spent as a near-feral orphan in a crime-riddled city, to his daringly brazen yet successful bid to enter a difficult and dangerous school of magic. In these pages you will come to know Kvothe the notorious magician, the accomplished thief, the masterful musician, the dragon-slayer, the legend-hunter, the lover, the thief and the infamous assassin.

What Did We Think?

[Notes Coming Soon]


Votes were as follows: 7, (8 in absentia), 8, 8, 10, 10

Lord of Light by Roger Zelazny

Synopsis

Imagine a distant world where gods walk as men, but wield vast and hidden powers. Here they have made the stage on which they build a subtle pattern of alliance, love, and deadly enmity. Are they truly immortal? Who are these gods who rule the destiny of a teeming world? Their names include Brahma, Kali, Krishna and also he who was called Buddha, the Lord of Light, but who now prefers to be known simply as Sam. 

What Did We Think?

 (Notes Coming Soon)



Votes were as follows: 8, 9, 9, 9, a 6 given in absentia, plus two abstains

Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury

Synopsis

It's the week before Hallowe'en, and Cooger and Dark's Pandemonium Shadow Show has come to Green Town, Illinois. The siren song of the calliope entices all with promises of youth regained and dreams fulfilled ...And as two boys trembling on the brink of manhood set out to explore the mysteries of the dark carnival's smoke, mazes and mirrors, they will also discover the true price of innermost wishes ...

What Did We Think?

 That we read this book over the month of October, that is to say - over Halloween, was entirely serendipitous.

Most of us were delighted by Bradbury's most famous horror title, finding it unique and original despite its archetypal status. What most impressed everyone however was the stylised language Bradbury uses to tell his story. The prose is flowery and beautiful and creates an atmosphere which is at once tense, sinister and immersive, however it also makes the book nigh on impossible to skim.

There's a definite air of nostalgia around the two main characters: William "Will" Halloway and Jim Nightshade, both thirteen year old boys. So powerful is this nostalgia for an innocent childhood that at times it can be overly sweet and cloying. That said, his representation of the boys as two sides of the same coin was refreshingly different from the normally lazy characterisation of such figures in horror or boys-own-adventures, where normally duplicate children are all more or less the same and only more than one so that they have someone to talk to.

Whilst nicely drawn, more interesting than the boys were the chief villain, Mr. Dark: a powerful and exciting Faustian character, and Will's father Charles. Charles Halloway is an inciteful and complexly brilliant character with doubts and philosophies which come across as being honest and representative of genuine wisdom, possibly Bradbury's own (he was 42 when this novel was published in 1962). There are no significant female characters to speak of, and those that do exist seem to conform to the classical template of the maid, the mother and the crone, although this fits with the novel if seen as a boys-own-adventure story.

Obviously this was one of the first novels, if not the first, to exploit the circus freak mystique for horror purposes (although one wonders whether Bradbury had seen the 1932 horror film Freaks). Its influence on media as diverse as the TV show Carnivàle and Stephen King's It are clear (King references the novel is several fictions of his own, notable The Dead Zone)

What detracted from the novel was, paradoxically, what also made it so beautiful - the florid language making it at times hard to follow, especially if read in short bursts. Also, possibly a symptom of its age, the horror of the novel was far less horrific than would be liked in a modern novel, indeed it might be more acurate to consider it a suspense novel than a horror novel.

Nevertheless, there was an overall positive reaction to this book and a strong appreciation for Bradbury's skill as an author.

Votes were as follows: 9, 9, 8, 7, 7, 7, 7, 5

Reminder

I don't like to double post about the same thing but if reading Ray Bradbury's Something Wicked This Way Comes for the session on Monday has got you into the mood for chilling tales of darkness and the macabre then you may be glad I reminded you that this Friday we've got the Twisted Tales Event in store.

From 6-8pm there will be readings from Fantasy / Horror authors Tom Fletcher, Nicholas Royle, Conrad Williams, and Ramsey Campbell. The event has already attracted quite a buzz and tickets have sold well (though there are still some available), it's even been mentioned on the British Fantasy Society page, University of Sterling's Gothic Imagination (the biggest website for studies of the Gothic in the world) and Horror magazine Black Static's "Things To Do At Halloween".

If we get as strong a turnout as I'm hoping we will, I plan to commission a series of such readings across the coming year. Not just horror, but science fiction and fantasy as well. I've already got a few authors lined up for the first sequel, and I'll be announcing the details for the first time at the event.

So come along and meet some of the biggest names in British Horror fiction working today. Hear them read their own stories, ask them questions, and get them to sign books.

Twisted Tales
Friday 29th October
6-8pm
Tickets cost £2
For more information, or to reserve tickets, call 0151 709 9820.