The Windup Girl

I found myself immersed in the book until the final couple of pages, which I found to be so sketchy as to be almost an afterthought or what in other books would be the Afterword. In fact, I wondered if the end of my ebook download was corrupted and double-checked against a paper copy at my local bookstore. Because of the supplemental material in the ebook which follows the main story I didn't realize how close I was to the end until I was there. I needed more. As a result, I was able to glean more detailed information about the fate of the characters and the geopolitical/environmental consequences of their actions from the Wikipedia article covering "The Windup Girl" than from the novel itself. Sometimes the ending of a volume within a series leaves you wanting to rush to get the next installment. But as a stand alone story Bacigalupi's hurried ending left me thinking "All that, for that?" My letdown is a measure of how thoroughly I enjoyed the rest of the book. Therefore, I gave "The Windup Girl" 4 1/2 stars and placed it on my Favorites list.