Scan barcode
mikaylaromeril's review against another edition
Worst book I’ve ever read
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Transphobia, Violence, Murder, Cultural appropriation, and Sexual harassment
laughingkatana's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
TW: sexual assault/rape, emotional abuse and manipulation, violence, violence against women, assault, war, torture, transphobia
<Spoiler> there will be many spoilers in this review so I'm tagging it up front. This book has an interesting story that develops dramatically and often kept me very interested/invested. Despite that, I do believe this is a 1 star book, and am flabbergasted at the fact it is award winning. The entire book seemed to rely heavily on incredibly over detailed description of pain, suffering, and assault; both physical, and sexual. The titles namesake character is a genetically modified/created woman known as a "windup" who's main trait is that she is genetically engineered to be subservient and submissive to anyone who shows authority. She is one of only two main female characters in the entire book and she is in the story simply to be a cry for help and to be raped/used; it happens multiple times throughout the story and is incredibly detailed. The concept of "windups" is simply a poor excuse to write women as victims, and "less than," going so far as to describe them as not human. On top of that the "Windup Girl" character only does 1 action that is crucial to the story and it literally isn't even written. It is the revenge killing of ~10 men who raped her. The rape is written in great detail, but the revenge killing is completely skipped over. The author can clearly paint a picture with words, but the story itself is scattered and has a very disappointing ending. The descriptions of suffering in many different ways clearly depicts a dystopian society, but it becomes repetitive very fast and lasts throughout the entirety of the book. Even though it kept me interested, I did not enjoy this book, had a very difficult time reading the explicit rapes/violence, and absolutely could not recommend this book to anyone
<Spoiler> there will be many spoilers in this review so I'm tagging it up front. This book has an interesting story that develops dramatically and often kept me very interested/invested. Despite that, I do believe this is a 1 star book, and am flabbergasted at the fact it is award winning. The entire book seemed to rely heavily on incredibly over detailed description of pain, suffering, and assault; both physical, and sexual. The titles namesake character is a genetically modified/created woman known as a "windup" who's main trait is that she is genetically engineered to be subservient and submissive to anyone who shows authority. She is one of only two main female characters in the entire book and she is in the story simply to be a cry for help and to be raped/used; it happens multiple times throughout the story and is incredibly detailed. The concept of "windups" is simply a poor excuse to write women as victims, and "less than," going so far as to describe them as not human. On top of that the "Windup Girl" character only does 1 action that is crucial to the story and it literally isn't even written. It is the revenge killing of ~10 men who raped her. The rape is written in great detail, but the revenge killing is completely skipped over. The author can clearly paint a picture with words, but the story itself is scattered and has a very disappointing ending. The descriptions of suffering in many different ways clearly depicts a dystopian society, but it becomes repetitive very fast and lasts throughout the entirety of the book. Even though it kept me interested, I did not enjoy this book, had a very difficult time reading the explicit rapes/violence, and absolutely could not recommend this book to anyone
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Transphobia, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail