Reviews tagging 'Physical abuse'

Tender Is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica

549 reviews

emviolet's review

dark sad 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 heard a lot of great things about this book, and i do think the idea of the overarching metaphor (humans treating certain groups as less than, dehumanizing certain groups to make them seem “animal”, etc) could be really powerful. but…the amount of gruesome, awful images throughout the book are just painful, and there isn’t a lot of actual plot or development or action to make any of it feel justified. it just feels dark and violent for the sake of being dark and violent. i wanted to like it, i really did, and it had a few moments. but i don’t think i could ever recommend this to anyone. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Murder, Trafficking, Death, Animal death, Cannibalism, Sexism, Animal cruelty, Child death, Death of parent, Physical abuse, Blood, Violence, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, and Rape

Moderate: Pandemic/Epidemic, Dementia, Medical content, Alcohol, and Blood

bodiless's review

dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

4.75

this was the most insane book ever

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Gore, Murder, Trafficking, Torture, Body horror, Classism, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Physical abuse, Kidnapping, Rape, Violence, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Slavery

sic_vic's review

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

Wtf did I just read? The author was so detailed and thoughtful with the entire process of cannibalism. This is extremely graphic and detailed. It’s literally an A24 horror film. 


<Spoiler> below













The ending messed me up soooo bad. Why did it have to end so abrupt? I wish I found out if the teenagers had the virus. I wonder if he caught the virus when petting the puppies, since he coughs and looks ill at the end of the book. 


I saw someone say that his morality changed when he ate meat again. After losing his dad, he had nothing morally keeping him grounded. He was rude to the nurse who was also grieving Marco’s dad’s death. He felt like he didn’t owe her respect anymore because his dad was gone. He could do whatever he wanted, even if he was disgusted with everyone else. He stopped viewing people as people. He was okay with killing scavengers because they were the bottom of the population resorting to cannibalism in a desperate situation. He was okay with poisoning them in revenge for Luis the driver. He was okay with killing Jasmine because his wife came back and now had a son again. His wife didn’t have good morality either, since she was interested in getting more kids out of her. At the end Marcos had nothing keeping him at a disadvantage, so he began accepting the system. What once was cruel and a sacrifice for him, at the end became the benefit and sacrifice of others. Even if their sacrifices weren’t consensual. (As he once stated himself)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Cannibalism, Violence, Sexual content, Physical abuse, Pandemic/Epidemic, Murder, Gore, Death, Child death, Body horror, and Blood

livxmarsh's review

challenging dark tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Cannibalism, and Animal cruelty

Moderate: Rape and Child death

henry888's review

challenging dark medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pandemic/Epidemic, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Cannibalism, Rape, and Physical abuse

mediamst's review

dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Cannibalism, Slavery, Murder, Violence, Trafficking, Pregnancy, and Physical abuse

roxiehrt's review

dark slow-paced

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

3.0

Wow. This book is depressing. I watch depressing true crime docs for a living and this was tough to get through even for me. Very graphic sections of murder, cannibalism, and dehumanizing behaviors…this is one of the most nihilistic books I’ve ever read. I gave it a 3 because it is well written and the intentions of the book really resonated, but it was a challenge to get through because the content was just…a lot…like…A LOT. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Gore, Grief, Violence, Vomit, Animal death, Body horror, Cannibalism, Mental illness, Murder, Self harm, Classism, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Infertility, Medical content, Sexual content, Trafficking, Death, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Pandemic/Epidemic, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual violence, Stalking, Suicide, and Torture

orizenda's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes

4.25

I don’t exactly know what to make of this one. That ending was a gut punch. I don’t know what i was expecting, but it wasn’t that. Interesting food for thought, if you’ll excuse the term

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cannibalism, Physical abuse, and Grief

Moderate: Child death

pipedownmrbrown's review

dark tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Gore, Physical abuse, Blood, Death, and Cannibalism

A true page turner. The content, in parts, was graphic, however it did not feel excessive and was built into the story. When finishing the last page, my mouth was left ajar. While I wanted more, I think the ending was perfect.

kaitlyn_mc's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Physical abuse, and Animal cruelty

Moderate: Sexual assault