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The farm : a novel by Joanne Ramos
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The farm : a novel (edition 2019)

by Joanne Ramos

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingMentions
7545630,044 (3.55)18
Fiction. Literature. HTML:NATIONAL BESTSELLER • Life is a lucrative business, as long as you play by the rules.
Skimm Reads Pick • People Book of the Week • Belletrist Book Pick • “[Joanne] Ramos’s debut novel couldn’t be more relevant or timely.”—O: The Oprah Magazine
NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY TimeGlamourReal Simple • Good HousekeepingMarie ClaireTown & Country
Nestled in New York’s Hudson Valley is a luxury retreat boasting every amenity: organic meals, personal fitness trainers, daily massages—and all of it for free. In fact, you’re paid big money to stay here—more than you’ve ever dreamed of. The catch? For nine months, you cannot leave the grounds, your movements are monitored, and you are cut off from your former life while you dedicate yourself to the task of producing the perfect baby. For someone else.
Jane, an immigrant from the Philippines, is in desperate search of a better future when she commits to being a “Host” at Golden Oaks—or the Farm, as residents call it. But now pregnant, fragile, consumed with worry for her family, Jane is determined to reconnect with her life outside. Yet she cannot leave the Farm or she will lose the life-changing fee she’ll receive on the delivery of her child.
Gripping, provocative, heartbreaking, The Farm pushes to the extremes our thinking on motherhood, money, and merit and raises crucial questions about the trade-offs women will make to fortify their futures and the futures of those they love.
NOMINATED FOR THE NAACP IMAGE AWARD • LONGLISTED FOR THE CENTER FOR FICTION FIRST NOVEL PRIZE
“So many factors—gender, race, religion, class—may determine where you come down on the surrogacy debate. . . . Ramos plays with many of these notions in her debut novel, The Farm, which imagines what might happen were surrogacy taken to its high-capitalist extreme. . . . The stage is set for lively book chat.”The New York Times Book Review (Editors’ Choice)
“A thrilling read.”New York 
“Grippingly realistic.”Entertainment Weekly
“Brilliant.”New York Post
“A provocative idea, and Ramos nails it . . . Crisp and believable, this smart debut links the poor and the 1 percent in a unique transaction that turns out to be mutually rewarding.”People
“Wow, Joanne Ramos has written the page-turner about immigrants chasing what’s left of the American dream. . . . Truly unforgettable.”—Gary Shteyngart, New York Times bestselling author of Super Sad True Love Story and Lake Success.
… (more)
Member:Valebaby
Title:The farm : a novel
Authors:Joanne Ramos
Info:New York : Random House, [2019]
Collections:Your library, Currently reading, Wishlist, To read
Rating:
Tags:to-read

Work Information

The Farm by Joanne Ramos

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» See also 18 mentions

Showing 1-5 of 56 (next | show all)
Adversity
  BooksInMirror | Feb 19, 2024 |
See the full review and more at baileysbooks.home.blog!

Recommended: sure
For a [b:1984|40961427|1984|George Orwell|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1532714506l/40961427._SX50_.jpg|153313]-ish, [b:The Handmaid's Tale|38447|The Handmaid's Tale (The Handmaid's Tale, #1)|Margaret Atwood|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1546031886l/38447._SY75_.jpg|1119185]-ish kind of story, for a read that will make you bounce back and forth between whether something is right or wrong until you're tangled up in knots, for complex evaluations on ways of living and which is better (indignant pride and striving for what you deserve, or gratitude for everything that you have no matter how meager it may seem to others)

Thoughts
The surface story within this didn't compel me as much as the struggle to figure out who was correct in their view of Golden Oaks and their services. I don't think I ever came up with a clear answer, but it made me consider some important questions and challenge some of my own beliefs, so that in itself made me keep reading.

What kept me reading this book, despite my revulsion at phrases like a baby "stewing in her sour broth," was how the rationale of each character made me question everything. I very much appreciated the look contrasting Ms Yu, Reagan, and Jane's perspectives of the end result though, as it highlighted the best and worst about each, and made it really difficult to point to one and say, "Clearly that is the correct way to see it." It felt very much like reality in that way. ( )
  Jenniferforjoy | Jan 29, 2024 |
This is not sci-fi, or a dystopian novel. It's just fiction, and not that removed from reality. Doesn't mean it's bad, but not as advertised. ( )
  lyrrael | Aug 3, 2023 |
Nestled in New York’s Hudson Valley is a luxury retreat boasting every amenity: organic meals, personal fitness trainers, daily massages-and all of it for free. In fact, you’re paid big money to stay here-more than you’ve ever dreamed of. The catch? For nine months, you cannot leave the grounds, your movements are monitored, and you are cut off from your former life while you dedicate yourself to the task of producing the perfect baby for someone else.
Jane, an immigrant from the Philippines, is in desperate search of a better future when she commits to be a “Hoist” at Golden Oaks-or the Farm, as residents call it. But now pregnant, fragile, consumed with worry for her family, Jane is determined to reconnect with her life outside.
Author does a good job of building up events but the book lacks the punch in the end. ( )
  creighley | Mar 24, 2023 |
Digital audiobook narrated by Fran de Leon.

Jane, an immigrant from the Philippines, is searching for a better opportunity to secure the future for herself and her daughter. So, the chance to become a “host” at Golden Oaks – a luxury resort in New York’s Hudson Valley – seems ideal. She’ll have every amenity: organic meals, a personal fitness trainer, daily massages, and an idyllic setting. All she has to do is be a surrogate mother for someone else’s child. But things at “The Farm” (as Jane and her fellow surrogates refer to it), aren’t as ideal as the brochures promise.

While the original premise seems plausible, the reality of Jane’s situation quickly devolves into a somewhat dystopian nightmare. She seems to be being played by not only those who run the operation but, perhaps, by one or more fellow surrogates. It also seems that the relative she’s entrusted with her daughter’s care while she spends nine months at Golden Oaks isn’t as trustworthy as Jane originally thought. All this adds to the tension … both for Jane and for the reader.

It certainly held my attention and I really wanted to see how Jane would fare in this scenario. I think this would be a work that book clubs would love to discuss.

Fran de Leon does a fine job narrating the audio. She has good diction and keep a good pace. There are a lot of characters, most of them female, and there were a few times when I got confused about who was speaking, but I quickly caught up. ( )
  BookConcierge | Dec 26, 2022 |
Showing 1-5 of 56 (next | show all)
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Epigraph
Dedication
For my mother, Elvira Abad Ramos
First words
The emergency room is an assault.
Quotations
Because in America you only have to know how to make money. Money buys everything else.
"There's no bigger nightmare for a mother than not being able to protect her child..."
Last words
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
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Fiction. Literature. HTML:NATIONAL BESTSELLER • Life is a lucrative business, as long as you play by the rules.
Skimm Reads Pick • People Book of the Week • Belletrist Book Pick • “[Joanne] Ramos’s debut novel couldn’t be more relevant or timely.”—O: The Oprah Magazine
NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY TimeGlamourReal Simple • Good HousekeepingMarie ClaireTown & Country
Nestled in New York’s Hudson Valley is a luxury retreat boasting every amenity: organic meals, personal fitness trainers, daily massages—and all of it for free. In fact, you’re paid big money to stay here—more than you’ve ever dreamed of. The catch? For nine months, you cannot leave the grounds, your movements are monitored, and you are cut off from your former life while you dedicate yourself to the task of producing the perfect baby. For someone else.
Jane, an immigrant from the Philippines, is in desperate search of a better future when she commits to being a “Host” at Golden Oaks—or the Farm, as residents call it. But now pregnant, fragile, consumed with worry for her family, Jane is determined to reconnect with her life outside. Yet she cannot leave the Farm or she will lose the life-changing fee she’ll receive on the delivery of her child.
Gripping, provocative, heartbreaking, The Farm pushes to the extremes our thinking on motherhood, money, and merit and raises crucial questions about the trade-offs women will make to fortify their futures and the futures of those they love.
NOMINATED FOR THE NAACP IMAGE AWARD • LONGLISTED FOR THE CENTER FOR FICTION FIRST NOVEL PRIZE
“So many factors—gender, race, religion, class—may determine where you come down on the surrogacy debate. . . . Ramos plays with many of these notions in her debut novel, The Farm, which imagines what might happen were surrogacy taken to its high-capitalist extreme. . . . The stage is set for lively book chat.”The New York Times Book Review (Editors’ Choice)
“A thrilling read.”New York 
“Grippingly realistic.”Entertainment Weekly
“Brilliant.”New York Post
“A provocative idea, and Ramos nails it . . . Crisp and believable, this smart debut links the poor and the 1 percent in a unique transaction that turns out to be mutually rewarding.”People
“Wow, Joanne Ramos has written the page-turner about immigrants chasing what’s left of the American dream. . . . Truly unforgettable.”—Gary Shteyngart, New York Times bestselling author of Super Sad True Love Story and Lake Success.

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