The Farm by Joanne Ramos
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This novel proved deeper and more substantive and realistic than I anticipated — and that was a good thing. Read “The Farm” if you’re up for a zinger of a critical commentary on capitalism entitlement, racism, bias, motherhood, and more.
The premise: Jane is a Filipino with an infant scraping by out of an over-housed Queens dorm, nannying to an uber-rich family when things go south and she needs work. Her connected auntie, Ate, connects Jane with a compelling opportunity: pass several rounds of tests and screenings to be a surrogate to the ultra-rich. The downside: Jane will have to leave her infant with Ate during the 10 months away. The upside: It’s just 10 months at a posh pastoral retreat where she’ll live with other sheltered surrogates who spend their days doing yoga, eating healthy foods, taking forest strolls… What’s not to love?
Plenty, as you can imagine. On reading the preview, I imagined this book could be dystopian, or a creepy thriller. It’s neither. Rather, it imagines an enhanced version of the surrogacy world that’s taken a turn for the worse, where women’s bodies are commoditized based on race and education, where personal liberties are sacrificed and purchased by wealthy clients.
An interesting book – full of humor, but not always funny; very serious, but satirical, and not completely literary.
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