The Farm

the farm

The Farm by Joanne Ramos

The Farm is the nickname of the luxury estate, Golden Oaks, at which reside a number of women, mostly immigrants from the Philippines. These women are at Golden Oaks because they have agreed to commit 9 months of their lives to producing the perfect offspring for anonymous women who have better things to do with their time than be pregnant.  

For providing this service, the hosts, as they are called, receive a large sum of money upon delivery of said perfect offspring. These funds will help them to support their families.

In this rather Atwoodian dystopia, the lives of the hosts are well programmed, everything is provided for a healthy, stress free pregnancy. Daily exercise, well balanced organic meals, yoga, massage – you name it the hosts have it.

Jane is one of the hosts, hired by Mae Yu, the farm’s executive. Jane has a child of her own, but after recently coming to America and finding herself a poor, single mother, she takes the opportunity offered her to improve life for herself and her daughter, Mali. Things start off well, Jane is happy to be helping someone who can’t have a child, but she misses Mali. She befriends two other hosts who are not as enamoured with the whole process and support Jane in defying the manipulative Mae. Jane becomes determined to get to Mali outside the farm, but she risks losing the money if she leaves. 

While Mae tries to keep her hosts under control, and placate the wealthy clients awaiting their perfect offspring, things begin to unravel, and the more things begin to unravel, the more Mae tries to keep them under control. 

Joanne Ramos writes a good story, and although it has a softer ending than expected, it still intertwines many things to give us food for thought on reproduction and motherhood all wrapped up in gender, race and class.

Station Eleven

Station Eleven

By Emily St. John Mandel

A famous actor has a heart attack on stage as he performs King Lear; a paramedic-in-training jumps out of the audience to perform CPR; and a 7-year-old actress watches her mentor pass away.  Outside the theatre, snow is falling, and a deadly flu is quickly spreading across the globe.  Unbeknownst to those in the thrall of the King Lear tragedy, the world as we know it is coming to an end.

So begins Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel.  Fast forward 20 years and that young actress is now performing with the Travelling Symphony.  Kirsten has little memory of the old world before the Georgia Flu.  With her parents and brother gone, she now has a new family – all survivors. 

Although there are many settlements, there are no longer towns per se, or even borders.  The Symphony is made up of actors and musicians who move from place to place performing nightly renditions of Shakespeare and Bach, amongst other things.  In a world that has turned dark, the Travelling Symphony brings light.  

There are many hazards on the road, but none so frightening as in St. Deborah-By-The-Sea.  This settlement is ruled by a Prophet; he takes many wives, often young girls, and holds sway over the townsfolk.  The Symphony knows when they arrive that they are in danger, and escape is much more difficult than they imagine.

Meanwhile, Station Eleven also follows the life of our paramedic.  Jeevan must make his way out of Toronto on terrifying roads strewn with the dead.  He must avoid marauding bandits and the dangers of a lawless world, to find… what?  There must be good people out there, he reasons.

As for our actor, Arthur’s former life is revisited – a life of fame, fortune and many regrets.  He leaves behind three ex-wives – one of whom has written the Station Eleven comic book from which the novel gets its name.  He also leaves one son, Tyler, to a new and dangerous existence.

Mandel writes of a dystopian world that is well within the realm of possibility.  At times the characters’ fear is palpable as they navigate the unknown.  But amongst all the heartbreak, beauty persists.  There is a rumour of a Museum of Civilization, located in an airport in Michigan.  The Symphony brings its brand of beauty to the world on a nightly basis.  And as the new world solidifies, people move beyond survival and towards lives they enjoy. 

Bioshock: Rapture

by John Shirley

Based on the video game series BioShock, this novel stands very well alone as a story in its own right. Set in the underwater utopian city of Rapture, BioShock: Rapture tells the story of the founding and Ayn-Rand-type vision of a city where all people are equal, paid each according to their contributions to the city, with no government interference.  Of course as often goes in these perfect plans, everything goes wrong and inequality inevitably divides the city (but you already knew this part from playing the game).

You don't need to play the game to appreciate the story: none of the games features appear in the book beyond providing background texture.

If you are curious, you can also find the games in our DVD Dispenser.

Memory of Water

by Emmi Itaranta


A novel of a future where water is scarce, and tightly controlled by an oppressive military. It's not your average dystopian novel though; it's more meditative than action-packed, and its focus is more on the characters - their motivations and choices - rather than the world itself. Despite that, it's still a page-turner.  I loved the tone of the writing - it's lyrical and elegiac. If you like dystopian books, but are looking for something that doesn't follow the usual conventions, pick this one up.