“The Farm” by Joanne Ramos

“The problem is that she is too pretty. When you are too pretty, the other parts of you do not become strong.”
-The Farm by Joanne Ramos
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Jane a struggling mother and an immigrant from the Philippines finds herself in a valley retreat, one where she can enjoy all the amenities, organic meals, private fitness trainers, daily massages—and all of it for free. And even get paid for her time there.
The only catch, “The Farm” is actually a fancy place to keep surrogates till the time they breed for their uber-wealthy clients.
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While the idea itself is really intriguing and fans of ‘The Handmaid’s tale’ would find themselves leaning towards the novel, but I felt the actual execution lacks the same harrowing and intense experience.
The story primarily revolves around Jane’s character and you do feel empathised by it, her innocence and motherly instincts make you feel sorry for her being trapped in a place like this, but the various subplots and narratives were all scattered here and there without coming to a tangible conclusion.
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The contrast between the rich and the poor and the emphasis on the wealth-divide between the two, by means of a subject like pregnancy, is very well portrayed and worth mentioning.
Overall, an average read touching on a lot of modern-day subjects that hold potential for a good book, if not for the various plots thrown in random directions.
Thank you @bloomsburyindia for the gifted copy in return for an honest review.
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Rating:⭐⭐⭐.5/5
Genre: fiction, contemporary, dystopia

“Unstoppable: 75 Stories of Trailblazing Indian Women” by Gayathri Ponvannan

Thank you @hachette_india for a copy in return for an honest review.
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Are you an advocate of women’s rights? Do you interest yourself in the achievements of women not only in the present century but ones that were attained at a time when the concept of feminism didn’t exist? Do you like illustrations?
If yes, this book is for you.
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A book featuring the lives of 75 of the bravest Indian women that adjourned our history with their courage and willpower and fulfilled their aspirations even in the face of prejudice against women and stigma from a society that still deems women unworthy of doing anything worthwhile.
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Each account fills you with pride and admiration for the wonderful women who fought for the country, flew planes, became scientists, teacher, took part in the freedom struggle and above all worked hard to realize their dreams.
Not only that, it stresses the roles of the male members of the society, the fathers, the husband, and the mentors, in paving the way and providing support to these fearless women.
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The language is simple and easy to understand. And coupled with the apt and beautiful illustration by @doodlekaari the stories came out beautifully. A recommended read for all the young girls and boys to introduce themselves to the female role models of history as well and inculcate a sense of respect equally for both the genders at a young age.
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I agree there were so many unsung heroines that I didn’t know about and I regard it a fallacy on my part to never make an effort to get to know about the daring ladies of history but I consider this a start and urge everyone to give this book a chance.
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Rating:⭐⭐⭐⭐/5
Genre: feminism, indian-literature, non-fiction

“The Color Purple” by Alice Walker

“I am an expression of the divine, just like a peach is, just like a fish is. I have a right to be this way…I can’t apologize for that, nor can I change it, nor do I want to… We will never have to be other than who we are in order to be successful.” -Alice Walker, The Color Purple
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Do you ever come across a tale so poignant yet so inspiring, that you cannot help but marvel at its beauty in all its form, one that is so tender that it touches you deeply even though it is just some words written on a few pieces of paper?
Well, this was one such read for me.
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Celia is a young black girl born into a poor family and having grown in a household where she was continuously raped by her father, deprived of the right to live with her two children and separated by her darling sister Nettie, she finds herself in an ugly marriage.
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Her life is gloomy and melancholious until she meets Shug Avery, a steadfast and unwavering woman, who refuses to resort to her destiny of living the life of a black woman, one that is filled with a lot of sacrifices and prejudice.
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Told by means of letters written by Celia, the story takes beautiful turns, showing a mirror of the condition of woman in black societies. If the blacks were the deprived classes back then, then the black women were deprived of the deprived. So much so that at some points of the book, it almost breaks your heart.
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Even though the narration is in African American English dialect, which might not be everyone’s piece of cake, once you get the hang of it, it is one of those tales that are so absorbing, you almost don’t want it to finish.
Intense yet gratifying.
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Genre: classics, black-history, historical-fiction, feminist-literature, feminism
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5/5
Reading difficulty: ⭐⭐⭐.5/5

“A Room of One’s Own” by Virginia Woolf

“Lock up your libraries if you like; but there is no gate, no lock, no bolt that you can set upon the freedom of my mind.”
– Virginia Woolf, A room of one’s own
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I am truly short of words to describe my experience or thoughts about my first read by Virginia Woolf. And that is saying something, considering I hardly ever feel that way.
Of course, it is a five-star read, of course, every woman must read it, of course, everyone must read it. With that out of the way, I would try my best to “review” this masterpiece.
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“Jane Eyre” by Charlotte Brontë

“I care for myself. The more solitary, the more friendless, the more unsustained I am, the more I will respect myself”
                                   -Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre

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Jane Eyre is the perfect Victorian classic, with the title being the name of the main protagonist.

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Jane, an orphan kid living with her aunt and cousins at the Gateshead hall. As any other orphan of her time, she is pretty much treated very badly, to the extent of being locked up in a room to learn to ‘behave’.

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Jane, a young kid of ten years, sent away to a religious boarding school – Lowood Institute. Even though she has good company, the inhabitants of the institution are constantly starved and cold for the lack of warm clothes.

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Jane, a young lady now, works as a governess for two years in Lowood and goes on to be a private tutor to a little girl named Adele, at a country house called Thornfield. There she meets  Mr. Rochester, the owner of the house and a series of events conspire between the two of them.

“The handmaid’s tale” by Margaret Atwood

“Don’t let the bastards grind you down.”  -Margaret Atwood, The handmaid’s tale

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The handmaid’s tale is a dystopian narrative set in the Republic of Gilead where a theonomic military dictatorship exists in what is present-day Massachusetts. The government is thrown off and a totalitarian Christian theonomy reigns. Human rights are diminished and women’s rights are heavily curtailed. The women of the society are now compartmentalised based on various functions and emphasis is now wholly in the act of reproduction making it the centre of the order.

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As the protagonist puts in these words:
” I am a cloud, congealed around a central object, the shape of a pear, which is hard and more real than I am and glows red within its translucent wrapping. Inside it is a space, huge as the sky at night and dark and curved like that, though black-red rather than black.”