Fallow - Sarah Anderson - ★★.¾

AUTHOR: Sarah Anderson

GENRE: Tough to say!

PUBLICATION DATE: September 15, 2026

RATING: 2.7 stars.

In a Nutshell: A somewhat-dark genre-defying fictional novel that combines satire, humour, and literary elements. An unusual plot with an interesting lead character. The first half is much stronger than the second half, which feels like a different story altogether. The ending left me dissatisfied. Regardless, it is an interesting read and I mostly had a good time with it. Not sure why it is labelled as horror and dystopian in some reviews; it is neither.

Plot Preview:

Natalie has a call centre job, student loans and an increasingly painful jaw. Also, Natalie has no dental insurance or ambitions or exceptional skills. So when she finds a flyer advertising a mysterious new position at “The Company”, she ends up hired as an in-house surrogate for their pilot project: offering surrogate parenting options for their top executives. The Company promotes it as an opportunity to help women seek greater gender equity and smoother corporate growth. In return, Natalie gets a very generous compensation and complete support for her personal requirements. The going is indeed quite well at first, and Natalie finds herself a perfect fit for the position. But a certain development towards the end of her contract leads to another big life change for her.

The story comes to us in Natalie’s first-person perspective over three distinct sections and a period of ten years.

Bookish Yays:

👶🏻 The concept. Love books with unusual plotlines!

👶🏻 The plot execution in the first section. Love how it portrayed more on Natalie as a person than just on her prowess as a surrogate. Also, it doesn’t feel repetitive despite the multiple pregnancies.

👶🏻 Natalie as a character. Probably one of the most unusual characters in contemporary fiction and absolutely not what you would expect from the blurb. Natalie stands out for her attitude towards her life and her work. Her laidback approach added a light touch to an otherwise serious story.

👶🏻 The first-person narration, using a good mix of introspection, conversations, and observations.

👶🏻 The dark satirical humour. Well used to make relevant points.

👶🏻 The highlight on the corporate approach towards women’s rights, pregnancy and maternity leave.

👶🏻 The title and the cover. Love the way its significance is explored in the book.

Bookish Okays:

🍼 In a book with plenty of characters, some definitely leave a greater mark than the others. But we don’t get to know most of them in detail as the focus stays on Natalie’s quandary. The only exceptions are a couple of characters from sections two and three.

BOOKISH NAYS: (In CAPS because these are really disappointing NAYS!)

🐄 The story is divided across three sections. The first is easily the best one, and the second one is also decent. The third section, where the setting and situation changes, is very weak. The continuity is so jarring that it feels like two random books mashed up altogether. I struggled to regain my interest in the book.

🐄 The ending is disappointing. While there’s no cliffhanger as such, there are a few developments the story hints at but offers no closure on. I’d have loved to see a little more happiness at the end.

Overall, the first two sections of this novel are fairly entertaining with the unusual storyline and equally unusual lead character. It also offers plenty of deep points to ponder over while still being light in approach. The final section pulls the entire positive experience downwards.

I have no idea why some Goodreads reviews have tagged this as horror and/or dystopian. Despite the situation Natalie is in, the approach is more of satire than of dread. I guess the only scary thing would be if companies actually introduce mandatory inhouse surrogacy to minimise maternity leave.

Recommended to those looking for an unusual contemporary novel. Just be prepared for a totally tangential Section Three that doesn’t do justice to the initial sections.

2.7 stars. (4 stars for Section One, 3 stars for Section Two, 1 star for Section Three. Averaged.)

My thanks to Farrar, Straus and Giroux for providing the DRC of “Fallow” via NetGalley. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.