The Farm

(Paperback)

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Description

A gripping story about race, money and motherhood that asks: what would you sacrifice for a new life 'A firecracker of a novel' Madeline Miller 'Intelligent, thought-provoking, slyly satirical' Sunday Times 'About everything a book should be about: race and class, power and inequality - and it's dark and funny' Joanna Cannon 'An unsettling, unputdownable read' Elle 'Ramos has crafted a real page-turner' The Times Ambitious businesswoman Mae Yu runs Golden Oaks - a luxury retreat transforming the fertility industry. There, women get the very best of everything: organic meals, fitness trainers, daily massages and big money. Provided they dedicate themselves to producing the perfect baby. For someone else. Jane is a young immigrant in search of a better future. Stuck living in a cramped dorm with her baby daughter and her shrewd aunt Ate, she sees an unmissable chance to change her life. But at what cost Chosen as a book of the summer by the Guardian, Telegraph, Evening Standard and Cosmopolitan

Reviews

This topical, provocative debut anatomises class, race and the American dream * Guardian *
An intelligent, thought-provoking, slyly satirical novel with thrillerish elements, it is also affectingly illuminating about life for an expatriate service class * Sunday Times *
If you only read a single debut this year, make it The Farm * Vogue, Must-Reads *
Its so now Ramos has crafted a real page-turner that combines all the hottest issues of the day: inequality, race, and womens battle to reclaim their bodies from commodification by big business, with the eternal questions of how much we can sacrifice before losing ourselves completely -- Melissa Katsoulis * The Times *
Her book is a necessary one we need a mass-market novel that shows the impact of colonisation A great read -- Dina Nayeri * Guardian *
Utterly brilliant. I couldnt put it down! -- Christie Watson, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Language of Kindness
Crammed with acutely observed scenes that place reproduction within an intricate web of class, gender and race * Observer *
For those who cant wait until September for Margaret Atwoods sequel to The Handmaids Tale, heres a handy interim stand-in. Class, race and issues of power inequality are on the agenda almost as much as gender in this novel about a fertility clinic where surrogates have babies for the ultra-wealthy * i paper *
Excellent With echoes of The Help and The Handmaids Tale, The Farm is tipped to be one of the biggest books of the summer, a page-turner which strikes an entertaining balance between exploring topical issues and telling a great story with thoroughly likeable characters * Daily Express *
An intelligent, thought-provoking, slyly satirical novel with thrillerish elements, it is also affectingly illuminating about life for an expatriate service class * SUNDAY TIMES *
You cant move for feminist dystopias in these Atwoodian times. Joanne Ramoss debut is one of the best * The Times *
Intelligent and finely written ... Powerful -- LUCY SCHOLES * I PAPER *
A narrative resembling a cross between Rosemarys Baby and Dave Eggerss tech thriller The Circle Addictive, thought-provoking entertainment * Daily Mail *
An easy read that raises difficult, capital-I issues Theres plenty to unsettle here * Mail on Sunday *
A new Handmaids Tale * Sun *
Its 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 *
Chillingly plausible -- Sophie Mackintosh, author of the Booker-longlisted The Water Cure
Couldnt be more relevant or timely * O Magazine *
Unnervingly plausible * Economist *
Everything has a price in this promising and compelling dystopian debut * Red, This Months Best Books *
Billed as the new Handmaids Tale, Joanne Ramoss debut follows a luxury yet terrifying retreat for surrogate mothers * Grazia *
Ramos is good at making the dystopian feel contemporary, or perhaps that should be the other way round Ramoss debut smuggles a sharp attack on Americas entrenched inequality into a Handmaids Tale-style chiller about surrogacy * Metro *
An excoriation of capitalist exploitation, for dystopian darkness and sinister consequences Timely, resonant, morally complex * Literary Review *
Brilliantly cutting -- Reni Eddo-Lodge, author of Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race
A knock-out debut novel -- Paula Daly, author of 'Open Your Eyes'
Wow ... Truly unforgettable -- Gary Shteyngart
Its 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 *
Joanne Ramos tender, trenchant debut chillingly explores a dystopian future where race, class, power and poverty all play their part in paid-for pregnancies * Psychologies *
One of the most hotly anticipated debuts this year and for good reason * Cosmopolitan *
Smart and thought-provoking * Stylist *
An unsettling, unputdownable read * Elle *
The first debut of 2019 to grab the top spot for me ... Don't miss this one * Bookseller, Book of the Month *
The Farm terrifies with a simple question: How much of ourselves are we willing to sell With characters so real they leap off the page, Ramos yanks the reader into a world of Haves and Have-Nots, and her question lingers long after we turn the final page -- Christina Dalcher, author of Vox
Amazing. Its hard to explain what The Farm is about, because it's about everything a book SHOULD be about. Race and class and power and inequality, and its dark & funny ALL AT THE SAME TIME -- Joanna Cannon, Sunday Times bestselling author of Three Things About Elsie and The Trouble with Goats and Sheep
Ramos has written a firecracker of a novel, at once caustic and tender, page-turning and thought-provoking. This is a fierce indictment of the vampiric nature of modern capitalism, which never loses sight of the very human stories at its center. Highly recommended -- Madeline Miller, author of Circe
The debut to order now ... Think Never Let Me Go meets The Handmaids Tale * Sunday Times *
A highly original and provocative story about the impossible choices in so many womens lives. These characters will stay with me for a long time -- Karen Thompson Walker, author of 'The Age of Miracles'
Consider this The Handmaids Tale of 2019 In the vein of The Circle, but somehow more penetrating and realistic * MARIE CLAIRE *
Ramos creates a believable dystopian future where poor women try to make money and change their societal standing by offering up their bodies to house and deliver healthy babies for the rich. The novel alternates perspectives between four women and provides notes on fundamental inequalities -- The best books to look forward to in 2019 * EVENING STANDARD *
Excellent, both as a reproductive dystopian narrative and as a social novel about women and class -- Starred Review * KIRKUS *
A delicately paced and finely wrought tale A biting critique of the worlds inequalities Moving, ethically complex and gripping, The Farm is a great novel * Herald *
Compelling Will really make you think * GOOD HOUSEKEEPING *
It reads like a thriller but it is hard-hitting about race, money and inequality * BEST *
We loved this book * TAKE A BREAK *
Joanne Ramoss tender, trenchant debut chillingly explores a dystopian future where race, class, power and poverty all play their part in paid-for pregnancies * PSYCHOLOGIES *
Unnervingly plausible * ECONOMIST *

Author Bio

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, she became a staff writer at the Economist. She currently serves on the board of The Moth and lives in New York City with her family. The Farm, her debut novel, was a national bestseller, was chosen by over fifty international media outlets as a 'must read', and was longlisted for the Center of Fictions 2019 First Novel Prize.