Reviews tagging 'Religious bigotry'

Tender Is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica

22 reviews

noosh_pdf's review

dark emotional informative tense slow-paced

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

4.25

          "I know that when I die somebody’s going to sell my flesh on the black market, one of my awful distant relatives. That’s why I smoke and drink, so I taste bitter and no one  gets any pleasure out of my death.” -Spanel 

  

"She had the look of a domesticated animal," -Marcos Tejo

Just wow.
An utterly disgusting, stomach churning, gut wrenching book. Completely revolting. But I loved it.
The book is beautiful in such a way it is absolutely atrocious to read, the descriptions the author uses disgust me to a point of gagging. I have to say, although I loved it, it was not much of a memorable read.
It's not the best book, but it's definitely worth the time I spent. If you do wish to read this, I highly advise you to check the trigger warnings because even for me, it was terrifying.

The book itself is very slow paced, the actuality of whats happening does not reveal itself until Part Two of the book, however, I think that was the whole point of this novel.
Personally, if everyone had resorted to cannibalism for meat, I'd just go vegan, as long as I have seasoning with me, I'd eat plain lettuce for all that matters.

Now the plot itself, is basically about Marcos Tejo and how his wife is struggling after the death of their baby, Leo. This book exists in a dystopian world where all animals have been affected by a Virus and people have resorted to special meat  for survival since they can't live without meat. The special meat in this case is Human Meat. Humans are specifically breeded for slaughter and are referred to as, "Heads" because they hold no specific value in life and can't speak since their vocal cords have been cut out. 

That's all I will say about the description. 
I do think this book showcases the inhumanity some people can posses, the craze for murder and blood. I have nothing else to say. 
Read for yourself and see how the ending just leaves you speechless and disgusted. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Cannibalism, Child death, Slavery, Pandemic/Epidemic, Infertility, Car accident, Bullying, Sexual violence, Pedophilia, Blood, Violence, Trafficking, Torture, Excrement, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Suicide, Religious bigotry, Murder, Cursing, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Miscarriage, Gore, and Dementia

jhaneveauguste's review

challenging dark reflective tense fast-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: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Grief, Pandemic/Epidemic, Rape, Religious bigotry, Sexual content, Sexism, Violence, Blood, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Animal death, Confinement, Death of parent, Gore, Trafficking, Cannibalism, Child death, Classism, Death, Forced institutionalization, and Pregnancy

theaceofpages's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional fast-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

I have mixed feeling about this boo and jumped around a bit with regards to ratings. While this book was definitely disturbing, it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be based off of what I knew about it. It is a weird mix of incredibly cruel and violent and a vague kind of detachment. While it does provide details about how terrible head (humans raised for consumption) are treated, the writing is mostly fairly distant. 

I feel like this is more about a concept than an actual plot. It feels like the author wanted to illustrate a certain point or argument more than an actual story. Honestly, some of the most disturbing parts weren't even the descriptions of the human meat industry but about

a woman being raised for meat being raped

and

animal abuse

. Although the concept and treatment of home heads is seriously messed up (no more so than human farming, but the way they are utilised is... yeah.). I think a lot of that was due to our narrator's indifference to the situation though since the more disturbing situations were definitely described with more attention. I feel like the end illustrates this may be the intent? It definitely reveals a lot about Marcos either way. While obviously we, as readers, find the concept of separating humans into people and food horrifying, it is normal to him. And the rest of his society. There is even a social media trend about debating what they think other people they know would taste like.  That being said, the book does do a decent job on commenting on how messed up modern animal farming and capitalism are. And just how dark and messed up the human race is under all our pretenses of goodness and civility.

I must say that I do wonder how exactly the world got here and I can't say I completely buy it. While the concept of human farming is definitely not outside the realm of possibility, I struggle to believed that every other species would be culled. I think people would try to find a way this virus to keep life going as normally as possible. Especially since it seems that they developed a vaccine? I don't know. While the premise is believable, the build up? Not as much.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Cannibalism, Confinement, Torture, Classism, Rape, Death of parent, Animal cruelty, Physical abuse, and Animal death

Moderate: Excrement, Religious bigotry, and Pregnancy

shmayjoy's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• 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: Infidelity, Sexual violence, Animal cruelty, Classism, Death, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Torture, Body horror, Religious bigotry, Animal death, Blood, Rape, Cannibalism, Gore, Grief, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, Pandemic/Epidemic, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Moderate: Slavery, Confinement, Pedophilia, Alcoholism, Abandonment, Child death, and Excrement

Minor: Suicide, Genocide, Miscarriage, Forced institutionalization, Racism, Misogyny, Car accident, and Dementia

emilydrojas's review

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-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? It's complicated

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Physical abuse, Rape, Excrement, Gore, Sexual content, Blood, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Child death, Kidnapping, Death, Grief, Infidelity, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Animal death, Body horror, Genocide, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Racism, Chronic illness, Confinement, Religious bigotry, Animal cruelty, Forced institutionalization, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Trafficking, Medical content, Medical trauma, Sexual harassment, Mental illness, Police brutality, Slavery, Murder, Torture, Sexism, and Suicide

lokes's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense 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? Yes

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, Mental illness, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Slavery, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Death, Excrement, Homophobia, Miscarriage, Racial slurs, Racism, Religious bigotry, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Cannibalism, Dementia, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Incest, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Suicide attempt, Torture, Violence, Vomit, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Animal cruelty, Blood, Body horror, Child death, Classism, Confinement, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Kidnapping, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, Physical abuse, Rape, and Sexism

olliemae04's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious 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? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

I would love the rate this a 5 but for the main reason being that

they shouldn’t have fucked with the puppies YOU MONSTERS

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Trafficking, Violence, Alcohol, Medical trauma, Rape, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, Animal cruelty, Blood, Child death, Animal death, Body horror, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Addiction, Cannibalism, Car accident, Death, Physical abuse, Murder, Misogyny, Infertility, Medical content, Pedophilia, and Alcoholism

Get ready for nightmares.

leazzz's review

challenging dark tense medium-paced

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

3.0

I would like to never think about this book again. 
I think every other review I've seen of this SERIOUSLY downplays the TWs. 
Regardless of the writing/characters/plot, this is seriously disturbing and for a lot of people it will NOT be worth reading. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Medical trauma, Animal death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Religious bigotry, Suicide, Terminal illness, Homophobia, Murder, Cannibalism, Sexual assault, Animal cruelty, Violence, Vomit, Medical content, Torture, Chronic illness, Infertility, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual violence, Blood, Child death, Dementia, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Grief, Police brutality, Self harm, Slavery, Trafficking, Rape, Body horror, Excrement, and Genocide

headachesince03's review

challenging dark fast-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Murder, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Racism, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cannibalism, Physical abuse, Abandonment, Addiction, Blood, Body horror, Car accident, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Dementia, Medical content, Misogyny, Deportation, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Infidelity, Police brutality, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, Violence, and Homophobia

nahochacon's review

dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Cadaver exquisito es una novela muy gore pero que a través de la crudeza de su narrativa nos explica muchos temas actuales. Dentro del libro se plantean temas muy interesantes como ¿Qué es lo que nos hace humanos? ¿Realmente la palabra hablada y escrita es lo que único que nos diferencia de ser animales? Plantea dudas que si no existieran otras especies, el abuso entre nosotros, seres humanos, sería mayor.
Critica al capitalismo, como buena latinoamericana, y el lugar que tienen los países en desarrollo dentro de la cadena de consumo. La novela también trata los distintos tipos de abusos que hacemos entre humanos, critica los privilegios y a la sociedad que dice escandalizarse por las diversas atrocidades que fomentamos a través de nuestro consumo. Estudia la relación entre el hombre y la mujer. En general un trabajo muy bueno, que requiere sus escenas crudamente explícitas  para probar el punto de los temas hablados.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Genocide, Gore, Medical content, Murder, Slavery, Torture, Trafficking, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Cannibalism, Physical abuse, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Death of parent, Classism, Excrement, Grief, Racism, and Religious bigotry