What is the main idea of the novel, The Windup Girl?

The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi is a critically acclaimed science fiction novel about thirty-third century Thailand where food production and distribution is controlled through mega corporations. The novel focuses on the events leading up to a civil war, specifically how Emiko, a windup girl created in Japan, provides a reason by assassinating one of the most important men in the Kingdom. "The Windup Girl" is a fascinating tale of this future society. The novel's pace is quite slow in the first half, but it quickens in the final half of the book. It is fairly easy to read and is mostly linear with a few flashbacks pertaining to how the Thai Kingdom got to this point in the future. Overall, the novel is very interesting and thought-provoking.