The Farm

Author Biography

Joanne Ramos was born in the Philippines and moved to Wisconsin when she was six. She graduated with a BA from Princeton University. After working in investment banking and private-equity investing for several years, she wrote for the Economist as a staff writer. She lives in New York City with her husband and three children. This is her first novel.

Review

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 It's so now ... Ramos has crafted a real page-turner that combines all the hottest issues of the day: inequality, race, and women's 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 couldn't 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 can't wait until September for Margaret Atwood's sequel to The Handmaid's Tale, here's 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 Handmaid's 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 can't move for feminist dystopias in these Atwoodian times. Joanne Ramos's debut is one of the best The Times Intelligent and finely written ... Powerful -- LUCY SCHOLES I PAPER A narrative resembling a cross between Rosemary's Baby and Dave Eggers's tech thriller The Circle ... Addictive, thought-provoking entertainment Daily Mail An easy read that raises difficult, capital-I issues ... There's plenty to unsettle here Mail on Sunday A new Handmaid's Tale Sun It's 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 Couldn't be more relevant or timely O Magazine Unnervingly plausible Economist Everything has a price in this promising and compelling dystopian debut Red, This Month's Best Books Billed as the new Handmaid's Tale, Joanne Ramos's 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 ... Ramos's debut smuggles a sharp attack on America's entrenched inequality into a Handmaid's 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 It's 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. It's 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 it's 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 Handmaid's Tale Sunday Times 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, author of 'The Age of Miracles' Consider this The Handmaid's 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 world's 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 Ramos's 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

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