Labor in all its forms is cleverly and hilariously toyed with in Sarah Anderson's enthralling debut novel, Fallow, in which a young woman spends her 20s as a surrogate for an unnamed corporation referred to as "The Company." Directionless 23-year-old Natalie is an hourly worker at a call center that fields workplace complaints when she suddenly finds herself in need of extra cash for dental work. One of her 10 sisters turns her on to selling her plasma at the blood bank, where she learns of a mysterious opportunity that quickly leads her to becoming the first in-house surrogate at The Company. The Company wants to solve the "problem" of pregnant executives and maternity leave by outsourcing pregnancy, and Natalie needs the money--not just for dental work but also for credit card debt and student loans. She happily signs away most of her autonomy in exchange for a luxury condo, private chef, salary, and bonuses for natural births. After a handful of drama-free births, the situation takes a turn when Natalie becomes emotionally entangled with the wife of The Company's new CEO. Natalie's situation thrillingly implodes further when The Company fires the executive whose baby she's carrying. It sets Natalie on a path to a feminist utopian, egalitarian working commune.
Anderson wittily upends the trope of the work-averse young woman in this novel that contains depth beneath its sarcasm and humor. She also mines the fertile subjects of loneliness, found family, and finding meaning without pedantry. Fallow is a great next read for fans of Rebecca Novack's Murder Bimbo and Rufi Thorpe's Margo's Got Money Troubles. --Nina Semczuk, writer, editor, and illustrator