The Farm by Joanne Ramos
Published by Random House on May 7, 2019
Genres: Domestic Life, Women’s Fiction
Pages: 336
Format: ARC, eBook
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Nestled in the Hudson Valley is a sumptuous retreat boasting every amenity: organic meals, private fitness trainers, daily massages—and all of it for free. In fact, you get paid big money—more than you’ve ever dreamed of—to spend a few seasons in this luxurious locale. The catch? For nine months, you belong to the Farm. You cannot leave the grounds; your every move is monitored. Your former life will seem a world away as you dedicate yourself to the all-consuming task of producing the perfect baby for your überwealthy clients.
Jane, an immigrant from the Philippines and a struggling single mother, is thrilled to make it through the highly competitive Host selection process at the Farm. But now pregnant, fragile, consumed with worry for her own young daughter’s well-being, Jane grows desperate to reconnect with her life outside. Yet she cannot leave the Farm or she will lose the life-changing fee she’ll receive on delivery—or worse.
Heartbreaking, suspenseful, provocative, The Farm pushes our thinking on motherhood, money, and merit to the extremes, and raises crucial questions about the trade-offs women will make to fortify their futures and the futures of those they love.
I didn’t read the cover when I requested the opportunity to read and review this book through NetGalley, so when I was approved and jumped into the story, WOW was I surprised. I’m not sure what I was thinking, but this story line wasn’t it! LOL!
The Farm is actually called Golden Oaks, a secluded, country club atmosphere in Hudson Valley, NY that is a surrogacy farm where women are impregnated with sperm to host a child. The women are handsomely paid to carry someone else’s baby and no one forces them to go. They enter into contracts but at what cost? While the women are pampered at the Farm, they are there for the duration of their pregnancy; they sign an NDA, are unable to leave the premises and their internet activity is actually monitored. In order to get visits from family members, they have to apply for the privilege. For nine months the host women are medically monitored and then at the end of that time, the infant is handed over to the client whose embryo they carry. Just like that.
Readers see the Farm in several perspectives, too. There’s Mae, the wealthy (and power hungry) woman running the Farm. Then there’s Jane, an immigrant and young single mother who desperately needs the money. Ate is Jane’s older cousin who helped her get her position at the Farm. Finally, there’s Reagan is a white woman trying to stop being financially dependent on her family.
The Farm does a great job showing the economic disparity between rich and poor and how immigrants and ethnic minorities struggle, and how they are financially motivated to join the Farm.
I know The Farm won’t be a book for everyone and it’s even not an easy read, but if you’re remotely interested or intrigued based upon the book’s synopsis, I say you should go for it! It’s definitely a different kind of read!
Joanne Ramos was born in the Philippines and moved to Wisconsin when she was six. She graduated with a B.A. from Princeton University. After working in investment banking and private-equity investing for several years, she became a staff writer at The Economist.
She currently serves on the board of The Moth. She lives in New York City with her husband and three children.
Thank you NetGalley, Random House and Joanne Ramos for the opportunity to read this book. My views are my own and are in no way influenced by anyone.
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