The Windup Girl

The titular character, Emiko, is a genetically engineered 'New Person' designed in Japan to serve as an obedient and physically restricted companion. She is abandoned in Thailand by her corporate master and struggles with her programmed instincts versus her desire for freedom. Emiko's movements are herky-jerky, giving her the nickname 'windup.'

The 2009 novel is set in a dystopian future where global warming has raised sea levels and global trade has collapsed due to depleted fossil fuels. Society relies heavily on bio-engineered energy sources, primarily calories stored in massive springs wound by genetically modified elephants called megodonts. Rampant crop blights engineered by agricultural megacorps constantly threaten the global food supply.

The novel swept the major science fiction literary awards, winning both the Hugo and Nebula Awards for Best Novel in 2010. It also won the Compton Crook Award and the Locus Award for Best First Novel. This made it one of the most critically acclaimed debut sci-fi novels of the decade.

The story is primarily set in a futuristic, flooding Bangkok, Thailand. The Thai Kingdom is one of the few nations that has managed to survive global crop devastation by strictly enforcing an Environmental Ministry and keeping their seedbank isolated from foreign calorie companies. The city itself is protected by massive pumps and sea walls.