Reviews tagging 'Homophobia'

Tender Is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica

68 reviews

clawsure's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

What a ride. Even through the horrors of this universe, I couldn’t put the book down. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Animal death, Murder, Cannibalism, Death, Infertility, Violence, Blood, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Gore, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Trafficking, Pedophilia, Pandemic/Epidemic, Death of parent, Child death, and Confinement

Minor: Homophobia and Trafficking

readerrose676's review

dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

This book was so believably nasty. And, the reason why I didn't say "unbelievably" is because the actions that took place in this book are not as far away from reality as people may think. While yes, the descent into cannibalism is a very drastic change, the implications of the book are still unable to ignore.

How Marcos treated the female- especially at the end, the final understanding of exactly who Marcos was and how his limited perspective altered our own interpretations of the book, the subtle connotation of the government lying about the virus to begin with as an answer to overpopulation and crime.

All of these ideas, fleshed out in this short 200 page book, were so interesting to consume. What I find the most interesting however, is the slow and steady acceptance of this world. In the beginning, I was absolutely disgusted by the actions taken place and the descriptions, and I had to put this book down many times. But after reading some reviews online, I realize that I was not the only person who had subconsciously accepted that this world was what it was. Yes, it was still absolutely disgusting to read. Yes, the issues were still present and I was still aware of it. But I was no longer actively gagging while I read. And I think that this was a very intentional addition to the book to truly grasp the hypocrisy and how at the end of the day, humans are animals to. That descent can't be allowed to happen.

Overall, I thought this was a very interesting read. It wasn't flawless, by any means, but I couldn't put it down even when I desperately wanted to.

(I feel like a scholar rn sorry)

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Cannibalism, Gore, Animal cruelty, and Animal death

Moderate: Rape, Child death, Racism, and Death of parent

Minor: Homophobia

elwirax's review

dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

I can't say that this will have a lasting impact on me but it was fine.

I was left with many questions like what makes a human "food grade" as opposed to the consumer, I don't think someone without a first and last name is satisfying enough. How were people convinced into cannibalism, people are not that susceptible to propaganda and they are not passive agents. Why were there limited protests to this? Why weren't alternative meat products made? Perhaps this would deflect from the message, however, I did not find it fully compelling. This could've had such a powerful message concerning race and gender issues, but I'm not sure the animal cruelty theme shone through as much as it should've. There was a spark of a conversation on government power and conspiracies which could've been impactful commentary had it been explored past a conversation between teenagers. 

I personally don't believe Marcos' reasoning for doing the work he did was justified and the ending was extremely rushed and made no sense. Unfortunately, a disappointing read.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Cannibalism, Sexism, Violence, Body horror, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Animal death and Animal cruelty

Minor: Homophobia

aqsrudd's review

challenging dark reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This book is a dark and challenging read. Every move is intentional. Wonderfully crafted. The kind of book that makes me wish I was still in school so I had a whole class to discuss it with. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Medical content, Pregnancy, Blood, Body horror, Murder, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Classism, Cannibalism, and Confinement

Moderate: Rape and Sexual violence

Minor: Homophobia

zdanielle's review

dark sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Sexual violence, Violence, Animal cruelty, and Cannibalism

Minor: Child death and Homophobia

wends_nblw's review

dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

I'm a bit 'eh' on this one. This book was a tad bit too dull for me. One of my special interests is cannibalism, so reading about the consumption of humans wasn't particularly disturbing to me. As well, the writing style was so bland. I understand that it fits the main character, that is his voice, but lord did I find him as a character to be bland too. Not a single thing in this book surprised me in the least, I even predicted the end. 

However, I will say. The end was my favorite part; the only good part, in my opinion. This isn't a bad book either. It just wasn't really for me, which is a shame because cannibalism is my favorite trope.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Rape, Religious bigotry, Animal death, Child death, Pandemic/Epidemic, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Cannibalism, Trafficking, Sexual violence, Death, Gore, Infertility, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Sexual assault, Torture, Violence, and Slavery

Moderate: Confinement and Pedophilia

Minor: Excrement, Drug abuse, Drug use, Sexism, Dementia, Classism, Racism, Homophobia, and Car accident

smileysam's review

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

I saw a lot of praise for this book online and was looking forward to reading it as it seemed like a unique take on horror as well as some degree of social commentary. That being said, I did not enjoy it as much as many other reviewers did. I liked the tense atmosphere created, but that was about it. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Rape, and Animal cruelty

Minor: Homophobia

The description of the puppies being murdered almost made me stop reading.

literatebird's review

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Trafficking, Murder, Rape, Blood, Cannibalism, Body horror, Death, Death of parent, Physical abuse, Animal death, Animal cruelty, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Slavery, Sexual violence, Grief, Excrement, Murder, Kidnapping, Pedophilia, Suicide, Sexual assault, Infidelity, and Dementia

Minor: Homophobia

jenniferbookishwormish's review

dark tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

1.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Homophobia, Cannibalism, Child death, Rape, Confinement, and Physical abuse

sofiam19's review

challenging dark reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.75

Sorry what was the point of this book? Hard to get through/boring, and brutal for almost no reason (this can be done well in certain contexts). Wasn’t terribly written, but I was happy to be done with the book. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Cannibalism, Child death, Death, Rape, and Murder

Moderate: Violence, Homophobia, Suicide, Trafficking, and Torture