The Farm by Joanne Ramos
Book Review
Do you love reading debut novels as much as I do? I so enjoy consuming and supporting the work of new writers. This particular fiction novel is written by Joanne Ramos, a Filipino immigrant who attended Princeton University and worked in investment banking prior to become a writer… talk about accomplishments. 🤩
Told from multiple points of views, The Farm follows the women of Golden Oaks (aka The Farm), a high-end facility in upstate New York where Hosts are paid handsome fees to carry the babies of wealthy clients. For the duration of their surrogacy, Hosts are confined to the grounds of Golden Oaks and expected to abide by the strict guidelines put in place to ensure the safety and security of the affluent fetuses.
The lead character, Jane, is an immigrant from the Philippines who learns about The Farm from her cousin. After concluding that she has no other way to provide for her young daughter, Jane makes the difficult decision to leave her daughter in the care of another and become a Host. As she joins the ranks of other immigrants and a few white Ivy League “premium hosts” at The Farm, Jane and her newfound friends begin to uncover unsettling truths about their new place of inhabitance.
This story, despite the fact that it is a work of fiction, paints a very real picture of the struggles immigrants in this country face and the sometimes drastic measures they are willing to take to provide for their loved ones. It also offers an interesting social commentary on the difficulties of motherhood, especially when social standing and financial security are all but absent.
While I enjoyed this story and the concept of the book, I must say, I was hoping for a bit more drama and I felt the ending was a bit meh. Nevertheless, I would recommend this one to those who enjoyed The Handmaid’s Tail and/or to those who enjoy a fiction story that incorporates important issues like race, class and privilege.
⭐️⭐️⭐️💫/5 stars
For those of you that have read this one, what did you think?
