I know that The Windup Girl takes place in the same universe as "The Calorie Man," and I know that The Water Knife is in the same universe as "The Tamarisk Hunter." But are The Windup Girl and The Water Knife in the same continuity---say, 100 years apart? In other words, is there a single Bacigalupiverse, or are there several? (Or do we not know?)
1 Answer
Word of God is that they are separate universes:
When I think about it, your books all seem to happen along the same messed up timeline. Is there a Bacigalupiverse?
I deliberately say I’m not writing in the same universe because I don’t want the baggage. But yeah, there’s a package of obsessions that build a certain future. It’s always populated by politicians who refuse to lead, a citizenry that decided not to pay attention, and oops points—moments where we were sure things were going to be fine, and then they weren’t. Almost every one of the futures I have is not one that any of the characters would have chosen for themselves. They’re always like, goddamn, if we’d just done something different a little further back. That shows up again and again for me. I’m always a little melancholy.