Book Description

Life is a lucrative business, as long as you play by the rules. "[Joanne] Ramos's debut novel couldn't be more relevant or timely." --O: The Oprah Magazine (25 Books We Can't Wait to Read in 2019) 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. Advance praise for The Farm "This topical, provocative debut anatomizes class, race and the American dream." --The Guardian, "What You'll Be Reading This Year" "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 "A highly original and provocative story about the impossible choices in so many women's lives. These characters will stay with me for a long time." --Karen Thompson Walker, New York Times bestselling author of The Age of Miracles and The Dreamers "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, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Circe