I love a good book. And the book of this month is a reminder that there are still great books out there. The book follows the story of Jane, a Filipina immigrant in New York who becomes a "Host" at Golden Oaks, a luxurious secretive facility in New York where wealthy clients pay poor women to produce perfect babies. I know! Quite the story. In essence, the book explores class, poverty, motherhood, exploitation, and the commodification of surrogacy. The idea is that they get these women who are desperate and pay them a lot of money to stay at the Golden Oaks premise with all kinds of amenities: organic meals, personal fitness trainers, daily massages, but then on strict conditions such as not allowing them leave the grounds, monitoring every moment, and being cut off from all they know. What I found so fascinating wasn't quite Golden Oaks itself, but this exposition on the lives of the Filipina women clawing their way to better lives but almost always tumbling down to the depths of struggle because the forces are almost always unbelievable.
This book is griping, provocative, and enlightening. What an unforgettable novel. Yet again showing us how the rich get it all (despite having more than enough) and leave little to nothing for others. It also shows just how much humans will stratify on the basis of just about anything. The book doesn't just focus on Jane though. It tells the story from the perspective of different women. We see the rebel, the desperate one, the one whose yearning for her own child almost costs her the job at Golden Oaks, and the older woman for whom the American Dream is just out of reach. I've always been skeptical of surrogacy and not quite clear on the morality. This gave substantial material to add to the fodder.
I've heard of this book being described as dystopian, and as others have rightly pointed out: no, this is pretty close to reality. This book causes you to think. I like how the author herself is an immigrant and she tells the story of the sacrifices many immigrants make so well. She also does so as well as tell the story of race and class without being pedantic at all. There are critiques of this novel that talk about how ordinary it is, seeing as they went in expecting something more blatant, more of a discourse and yidi yada. I just don't see it. In my opinion, these issues are realistically insidious. In reality, capitalism doesn't necessarily flash glaring signs. No, it's subtle in how it threatens humanity. Because guess what, even in the ways the richest amongst us so blatantly amass more and more, we still don't pay attention. My one critique of this book, however, is that it went on about 100 pages too long. For me, it just felt like it could have ended earlier.
But anyway, that's about it. What have you been reading these days? What book caught your attention this summer? Let me know! And if you do end up reading this book, make sure you come back here to let me know. I love getting that feedback.
Love,
I
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