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saskiahill's review against another edition
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pregnancy and Classism
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cancer, Infertility, Racism, Sexual content, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Abortion, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Miscarriage and Panic attacks/disorders
sarahb919's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Masterfully written. I couldn’t put the book down! I loved all of the main characters but was a bit conflicted by the character Ate though that may be due to Jane’s POV and her suspicions about her cousin.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical content, Dementia, Grief, Abortion, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Ableism, Addiction, Body shaming, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Infertility, Blood, Vomit, and Alcohol
sarahmarie094's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
fast-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? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pregnancy
Moderate: Racism, Trafficking, and Classism
steveatwaywords's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Writing about government/corporate control of pregnancy in the shadow of Atwood is a brave act, but Ramos has a unique angle on this story, almost backgrounding the dystopic element (not in plot but in theme) in order to paint other characters in social relief. While her protagonist Jane is Filipino, most of those around her come largely from backgrounds of extraordinary wealth and privilege: navigating these petty and powerful structures is a delicate and sometimes mysterious matter, where any in a service industry find success at whim rather than merely hard or competent work. Troublesome, then, is a Jane who desires a future for her daughter, but who is not altogether competent in her judgment.
The action of the story is fair enough, with plenty of expected scenes from holding a large number of pregnant women in captivity (hardly a spoiler for being on the dust jacket!); and each of the primary characters is drawn to serve a social-political function rather than one of real nuance: the rebellious and narcissistic one, the privileged and compassionate one, etc. These are weaknesses in the crafting of the novel, but they aren't deal-breaking.
More difficult for me was a resolution that did not address these functions adequately, at least in that the groundwork laid (again, that background dystopia) is not s0 fully addressed that the resolution is satisfying.(Horrifying? Fulfilling? What are we to make of a grand vision of enterprise against women growing still, but at its heart two characters who find a positive future only because one was motivated by shame and guilt? And both admonish us to change our attitudes?)
Yes, capitalism is a powerful force--so much so, that every character bows before it, from beginning to end. The semi-competent Jane doesn't stand a prayer; but neither do her antagonists, in the end. And while a good number of pages are spent rationalizing a "happy" domestic ending for some of them, I can't help thinking that the horror of the novel is that very little effort is spent actually reflecting on its implications here. Morality is found only in legalese and enterprising policy-making.
In short, there is something in this novel to enrage just about everyone outside of its story--from characters as ironically blind at its end as they were at its start to the finger Ramos points at each of its readers for their part in a future we are all working so hard to reach.
The action of the story is fair enough, with plenty of expected scenes from holding a large number of pregnant women in captivity (hardly a spoiler for being on the dust jacket!); and each of the primary characters is drawn to serve a social-political function rather than one of real nuance: the rebellious and narcissistic one, the privileged and compassionate one, etc. These are weaknesses in the crafting of the novel, but they aren't deal-breaking.
More difficult for me was a resolution that did not address these functions adequately, at least in that the groundwork laid (again, that background dystopia) is not s0 fully addressed that the resolution is satisfying.
Yes, capitalism is a powerful force--so much so, that every character bows before it, from beginning to end. The semi-competent Jane doesn't stand a prayer; but neither do her antagonists, in the end.
In short, there is something in this novel to enrage just about everyone outside of its story--from characters as ironically blind at its end as they were at its start to the finger Ramos points at each of its readers for their part in a future we are all working so hard to reach.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism and Pregnancy
Moderate: Medical content
brotestantethic's review against another edition
dark
informative
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Masterful. Ramos creates a world so despicable and yet so like our own. She writes in a way that is easy to read and reflective of her arguments, which are laid out beautifully and mysteriously. Triumphant in everything it aims to achieve—and for that, one of the more devastating things I’ve ever read. Favorite book of 2023 so far.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism
Moderate: Sexual content and Abortion
fbzreadswhatever's review against another edition
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Racism, Pregnancy, and Gaslighting
Minor: Cancer, Dementia, and Abortion
dizzymissliz's review against another edition
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
reminded me of the handmaid's tale. in this day and age the objectification of reproduction is something that i felt was touched on, along with an analyzation of race and class division. the ending was deepy unhappy tho. even though jane ended up having a good job and taking care of amalia, she was still tethered to mae and poor despite being told she would get life-changing money for carrying the baby. it really pissed me off that she got robbed of that just because she wanted to see her daughter.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pregnancy
Moderate: Racism and Xenophobia
epellicci's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Complicated, unsettling, and fraught. In a lot of ways The Farm remined me of The Handmaids Tale. It tells the story of Jane, a young Filipino mother who winds up working as a surrogate mother for the rich clients of an organisation that controls and manipulates her life. Both uncomfortable and a complete page-turner, it discusses race, women's rights, class and power in equal measure and encourages its readers to really engage with the characters. An excellent read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Emotional abuse, Racism, Sexism, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Abortion and Toxic friendship
Minor: Sexual content, Slavery, and Terminal illness
kelly_e's review against another edition
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Title: The Farm
Author: Joanne Ramos
Genre: Fiction
Rating: 2.5
Pub Date: May 7, 2019
T H R E E • W O R D S
Provocative • Underwhelming • Measured
📖 S Y N O P S I S
"The Farm" is a high end facility offering amazing amenities and top notch care to women they've recruited to be surrogates for wealthy wannabe parents. The "hosts" offer their bodies in return for a big payout when they deliver the babies, a payout that promises to change their lives. Meet June, a single mother from the Philippines, who strongly encourage by her Aunt, decides to apply to be a 'host' in order to offer her daughter a better future in America.
💭 T H O U G H T S
The premise for The Farm, Joanne Ramos' debut novel, sounded so intriguing I couldn't stop myself from picking up a copy. The concept was amazing, and the themes of motherhood, capitalism, immigration and reproductive right were thought-provoking, however, the execution was unsatisfying. This supposed dystopian world seemed way too plausible, and although the characters felt real, I took very little interest in any of the perspectives.
What really irked me was that the whole way through there was this underlying sense building of something awful happening at the farm, but that turned out to be nothing and I was left feeling very underwhelmed. The one thing this book did do well was raise lively discussion around a variety of topics.
📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• bookclubs
🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S
"She always said that worst thing you can do to a child is raise it with too much softness, because the world is hard. But Jane is not sure. There are people who move through the world like they own it, and the world seems to bend to their demands."
Author: Joanne Ramos
Genre: Fiction
Rating: 2.5
Pub Date: May 7, 2019
T H R E E • W O R D S
Provocative • Underwhelming • Measured
📖 S Y N O P S I S
"The Farm" is a high end facility offering amazing amenities and top notch care to women they've recruited to be surrogates for wealthy wannabe parents. The "hosts" offer their bodies in return for a big payout when they deliver the babies, a payout that promises to change their lives. Meet June, a single mother from the Philippines, who strongly encourage by her Aunt, decides to apply to be a 'host' in order to offer her daughter a better future in America.
💭 T H O U G H T S
The premise for The Farm, Joanne Ramos' debut novel, sounded so intriguing I couldn't stop myself from picking up a copy. The concept was amazing, and the themes of motherhood, capitalism, immigration and reproductive right were thought-provoking, however, the execution was unsatisfying. This supposed dystopian world seemed way too plausible, and although the characters felt real, I took very little interest in any of the perspectives.
What really irked me was that the whole way through there was this underlying sense building of something awful happening at the farm, but that turned out to be nothing and I was left feeling very underwhelmed. The one thing this book did do well was raise lively discussion around a variety of topics.
📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• bookclubs
🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S
"She always said that worst thing you can do to a child is raise it with too much softness, because the world is hard. But Jane is not sure. There are people who move through the world like they own it, and the world seems to bend to their demands."
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pregnancy and Classism
Moderate: Child death, Miscarriage, Racism, and Abortion
zombiezami's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
This was a fascinating book that I could hardly put down. The descriptive writing, themes, and characters were wonderful. The premise and execution reminded me a lot of The Stepford Wives. The author didn't quite stick the landing at the end, though, in my opinion. It's not just that it wasn't a happy ending. The ending just felt a little anti-climactic. Maybe that was the point, but in the realm of sci fi, I feel like the author could have pushed the envelope a little more.I also feel that the time skips made the book feel rushed at times, rather than helping the narrative. Even, so, I was legitimately stunned when we found out that Regan met an actor and not the real client. That was truly sinister.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Vomit, Medical content, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Classism
Moderate: Cancer, Infertility, Miscarriage, Racism, Sexual content, Xenophobia, Blood, Abortion, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Animal cruelty, Infidelity, Slavery, and Excrement
Eugenics, Colorism