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abalderson's review against another edition
4.0
Hmm I’m not sure where to start with this one. It was a interesting and compelling read which has a similar story line to The Handmaids tale and while I quite enjoyed it, I did find it a hard read. There are 4 povs that make up the story, but the main focus is Jane, an immigrant from the Philippines. Her pov is written mainly in broken english it seems, so this coupled with the multiple narratives means there is a lot going on and you really have to pay attention. Some parts of the book I also found quite confusing as parts of the story line would start and stop and weren’t sometimes explained till later on.
Overall I think it was a great book, it was gripping and had many factors of race, religion and gender as well as class, focusing on the rich exploiting those below them and just what lengths a mother would go to for their child.
For me, I would rate this 4 star and would recommend as long as you can give the story your full attention and really focus on the characters because it is worth it!
Overall I think it was a great book, it was gripping and had many factors of race, religion and gender as well as class, focusing on the rich exploiting those below them and just what lengths a mother would go to for their child.
For me, I would rate this 4 star and would recommend as long as you can give the story your full attention and really focus on the characters because it is worth it!
katiescho741's review against another edition
3.0
This book wasn't what I expected. I think I was expecting a more dystopian story about a reproduction centre where fertile women are impregnated over and over for the benefit of the wealthy. I mean, that's kind of what it's about, but it's more about the relationships between the women carrying the rich children (the Hosts), and also a lot about class. It's a very contemporary novel; the setting is a clean, modern centre called Golden Oaks but it doesn't feel futuristic and all the tech mentioned is available now. Golden Oaks is marketed as a great opportunity for both host and mother-if you're a wealthy woman with no time to have kids, you can hire a woman to bear your child for you and compensate her for her trouble.
The book presents many ethical questions about surrogacy. I am no expert on the topic, but I this book really gets you thinking about the set-up. If a wealthy woman has worked her whole life and is now past child bearing age, why shouldn't she be able to implant an embryo into a younger, less well-off women? If the woman is willing, what's the problem? Well The Farm shows us how a centre like this might work and, at times, it does feel a little stifling and intense. Things are kept from the Hosts and they are manipulated in various ways.
The book is told from the POV of several of the women involved with Golden Oaks, and it's interesting to get the action from all sides. Golden Oaks isn't trying to be authoritarian or overly-secretive but there are certain things they keep from the Hosts. Jane is sort of the main character and she is a very realistic creation; the reader can empathise with her but also become annoyed with some of her mannerism and traits.
Race and class are both big themes in this book. There is a lot of discussion early on about how many of the wealthy mothers would love to hire a White or Asian Host to carry their child. It's also mentioned about certain women being from cultures of obedience and servitude and how they are prime for Host selection too. We get a look into Jane's life at the start of the book and we see her family and friends struggle to get by on menial job wages while living in a dorm together. These women struggle to provide for their children so Golden Oaks is a perfect opportunity. Right? This book certainly makes you think about privilege, both race-based and class-based.
The Farm took me a while to get into. I think because it was a different type of story than I expected, I was a bit resistant to it. However, I eventually got into it and became invested in the women involved.
The book presents many ethical questions about surrogacy. I am no expert on the topic, but I this book really gets you thinking about the set-up. If a wealthy woman has worked her whole life and is now past child bearing age, why shouldn't she be able to implant an embryo into a younger, less well-off women? If the woman is willing, what's the problem? Well The Farm shows us how a centre like this might work and, at times, it does feel a little stifling and intense. Things are kept from the Hosts and they are manipulated in various ways.
The book is told from the POV of several of the women involved with Golden Oaks, and it's interesting to get the action from all sides. Golden Oaks isn't trying to be authoritarian or overly-secretive but there are certain things they keep from the Hosts. Jane is sort of the main character and she is a very realistic creation; the reader can empathise with her but also become annoyed with some of her mannerism and traits.
Race and class are both big themes in this book. There is a lot of discussion early on about how many of the wealthy mothers would love to hire a White or Asian Host to carry their child. It's also mentioned about certain women being from cultures of obedience and servitude and how they are prime for Host selection too. We get a look into Jane's life at the start of the book and we see her family and friends struggle to get by on menial job wages while living in a dorm together. These women struggle to provide for their children so Golden Oaks is a perfect opportunity. Right? This book certainly makes you think about privilege, both race-based and class-based.
The Farm took me a while to get into. I think because it was a different type of story than I expected, I was a bit resistant to it. However, I eventually got into it and became invested in the women involved.
smsienk's review against another edition
2.0
I kept waiting to get to The Point. There are so many important issues raised here - wealth inequality; the devaluing of women's essential labor; the ways racism, sexism, and classism interact to keep women down and turn them on one another. None of them pushed quite far enough to actually make a statement, just like none of the characters felt quite real enough to evoke a strong emotional reaction. The end felt half-hearted where it could have made a strong narrative. I also didn't love this audio narrator, which I've found makes a big difference for me.
spauffwrites's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I loved this nuanced novel and the complicated relationships of the four women in it. Jane, an immigrant from the Philippines and a single mother to a young daughter, is initially thrilled to get a job as a Host at Golden Oaks, a surrogacy farm in Hudson Valley. For nine months, she'll be taken care of and monitored while she carries a baby for a mystery client. But worries about her daughter and her cousin back home in the city consume her, and she becomes desperate to escape her pampered prison — especially as other Hosts uncover the lies and manipulations by staff at Golden Oaks.
The Farm has the dystopian echoes of The Handmaid's Tale, but doesn't feel as distant or implausible. Most of the women who serve as surrogates are poor or women of color searching for a better life. The clients they serve are rich women, either too busy or too old to conceive themselves. Even the ending, where Jane gets a job as a nanny, raising a child she carried as a surrogate, feels like it could happen or has already happened in real life. It's a bittersweet ending, because Jane gets to be with her daughter, but she's still searching for freedom and her own life.
The Farm has the dystopian echoes of The Handmaid's Tale, but doesn't feel as distant or implausible. Most of the women who serve as surrogates are poor or women of color searching for a better life. The clients they serve are rich women, either too busy or too old to conceive themselves. Even the ending, where Jane gets a job as a nanny, raising a child she carried as a surrogate, feels like it could happen or has already happened in real life. It's a bittersweet ending, because Jane gets to be with her daughter, but she's still searching for freedom and her own life.
sofi0518's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars
This was a very interesting book and I blitzed through it. The premise was amazing - not sure if there are any businesses like Golden Oaks in existence. However, the ending disappointed me. I feel like no one learned any lessons.
This was a very interesting book and I blitzed through it. The premise was amazing - not sure if there are any businesses like Golden Oaks in existence. However, the ending disappointed me. I feel like no one learned any lessons.
horsley123's review against another edition
5.0
A page turner set in the not too far off future. The commercialisation of surrogacy has meant that women are using other women to carry their babies not just because of fertility, but to get round the modern time constraints of time and money. As the clients become more demanding the circumstances of surrogacy become more skewed towards the clients' demands, rather than the needs and safety of the surrogates. A book that raises many questions, not just about the ethics of surrogacy but also about the socio-economics and race of the surrogates.
But don't expect a political manifesto, this is an enjoyable read with mystery and suspense. I was not totally sold on the ending, it was all a bit too neat but that is a very small criticism for an otherwise thought provoking read.
But don't expect a political manifesto, this is an enjoyable read with mystery and suspense. I was not totally sold on the ending, it was all a bit too neat but that is a very small criticism for an otherwise thought provoking read.
hayberk's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
rmarcin's review against another edition
3.0
The farm is a place where women are paid to come and live luxuriously while they are impregnated as surrogates for wealthy couples who want a child.
I didn't like the way they treated these women like production so that the adoptive mothers didn't have to stop their careers to have a child.
This book wasn't for me.
I didn't like the way they treated these women like production so that the adoptive mothers didn't have to stop their careers to have a child.
This book wasn't for me.
caitlinluter's review against another edition
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0