I listened to most of this book on audio, which was narrated by Ewan Chung, and while there was nothing lacking in the audiobook performance, I feel this was the wrong choice for this book for me. I felt like I missed details, and the overall result was that the story felt like it went completely off the rails, although that could also be a result of improper starting expectations for its contents.⁣
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Waste Tide is a sprawling novel, bringing together many viewpoint characters and a ton of plot. The setting is the imaginary Silicon Isle, an island off the coast of China where trash and recycling is processed by the “waste people”, a lower caste of people tasked with menial labor. It follows primarily a young Chinese American translator named Kaizong, as well as a “waste girl” named Mimi with whom he strikes up a friendship and something of a romance, Kaizong's boss at TerraGreen Recycling, an American company attempting to create a deal with the government/the clans who control Silicon Isle, the various clan heads, and more. The many perspectives added a lot of deep richness to this story, but I struggled to reconcile the story’s very realistic science fiction elements with others that felt more magical. There were a lot of ideas and political machinations at work in this book, and while a lot of it was fascinating, I didn’t find myself invested in the story the way I’d hoped. Kaizong’s character was best developed for me, and I loved his heavy musings, but I didn’t get that same level of depth with any of the other characters. I was most frustrated by Mimi, who often felt reduced beneath her potential. I wouldn’t want to discourage anyone from reading this novel though, as again I’m not sure I got everything I otherwise would have out of the text had I had better focus.⁣
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Cw for rape and graphic violence