The Waste Tide

The Waste Tide is a science fiction novel by the Chinese writer Chen Qiufan. It is the debut novel by the writer.

Writing background
The story takes place in the imaginary  Silicon Isle . The Chinese word  硅屿  for Silicon Isle shares a similar pronunciation with Guiyu (Chinese: 贵屿) in Mandarin. In the real world, Guiyu is a town in the Shantou prefecture of Guangdong province in southern China. And it is Shantou where Chen Qiufan was born and grew up before he entered Peking University.

Situated on the South China Sea coast, Guiyu got famous in the global environmentalist community for its reception of E-waste. The town held the record for being the largest E-waste site up to 2013. Though some residents got rich by electronic recycling, pollution became serious in the town.

Talking about the background of writing the novel, Chen said: '' Choosing my hometown as background to write the story, is related to my thinking of China. To depict the pain of changing China, is just because I desire for she getting better gradually. ''

Setting
The Waste Tide depicts a dystopian China in the post-2020 era. On Silicon Isle, the large electronic waste recycling industries are controlled by local lineage associations. Migrant laborers, known to the locals as "waste people," are exploited by three families of Silicon Isle natives in a toxic environment that destroys their health. The waste people dismantle plastic and electronic parts from cybernetic implants and augmentations, robots, and other discarded pieces of advanced technology.

Plot
Mimi is a 'waste girl', a member of the lowest caste on Silicon Isle. Located off China's southeastern coast, Silicon Isle is the global capital for electronic waste recycling, where thousands of people like Mimi toil day and night, hoping that one day they too will get to enjoy the wealth they've created for their employers, the three scrap families who have ruled the isle for generations.

It all changes when a ship bearing a dangerous cargo arrives at Silicon Isle. What looks like normal e-waste is actually infected by a virus born out of one of the darkest episodes of World War II, Project Waste Tide. In a fateful accident, Mimi is infected by the virus and becomes the host for an omniscient consciousness, hell-bent on righting all the wrongs that have been done to her people. A class war ignites, one that draws in environmental extremists and waste workers, and involves family feuds and darker conspiracies.