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crgrace's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
I did not “enjoy” it per sé, but the thought provoking nature and graphic audacity of this novel pushed it to almost 4 stars for me.
The author fed just enough detail to move the plot along and keep the reader mildly curious while eliciting an emotional pit of horror, disgust, and wistfulness.
I wouldn’t recommend this to many people but I’m not upset I read it. Check the trigger warnings if you have literally any triggers.
Graphic: Trafficking, Pandemic/Epidemic, Animal death, Child death, Murder, Cannibalism, Animal cruelty, Blood, Body horror, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Torture, Dementia, Excrement, Adult/minor relationship, Medical trauma, Blood, Self harm, Grief, Confinement, Gore, and Sexual content
Minor: Infertility, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Alcohol, Infidelity, and Toxic relationship
emilyyyxleigh's review
- 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? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Excrement, Gore, Cannibalism, Physical abuse, Animal death, Slavery, Medical content, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Pregnancy, Infertility, Child death, Animal cruelty, and Death of parent
glitterdeww's review
- 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
2.5
From a personal lense, I disliked it immensely.
Anyone going into this book needs to understand that this will be a spectacle. That is the point. Spectacles can be enthralling, and that is the one things I believe this book does well. It is wholly compelling, from start to finish. But I would not anticipate plot, characters, nor world building to be well developed or make rational sense. As I read, the plot points answered the question, "how can I be shocking and terrible next?" Some of the most difficult passages lent nothing of value to the (story?), and as I worked through the disgust I was meant to feel, I found little else. The spectacle itself pulled me through this book and left only frustration.
The overarching metaphor of Tender is the Flesh is not just the world of factory farming, but how humans view and treat different sorts of life, including each other. The excess of the story makes this extremely heavy handed, taking what the readers gets from the first 20% of the book and beating them over the head with it until the last page.
People are cruel. They justify atrocities in their daily life over and over. They blind themselves willingly through selfishness. Digging into these aspects of humanity is useful, but I think where I was left most irritated was that there was nothing to pit these negatives against. And that does not make a well-rounded story. At the end of the day, that's why I disliked it. If this was written as a short story, a creative essay digging into just this topic, I would probably view it differently. But there was something lacking here that cheapened the overall product.
Graphic: Death, Medical content, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Animal cruelty, Confinement, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Pandemic/Epidemic, Sexual assault, Gaslighting, Rape, Violence, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Cannibalism, Child death, Murder, Slavery, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, and Sexual violence
Moderate: Pregnancy, Alcohol, Car accident, Excrement, Infertility, and Infidelity
sgs's review
4.0
Incredibly disturbing and upsetting, but this book makes you think. Prose reminiscent of Vonnegut, themes like 1984, and disturbing modern relevancy, read this if you want to think, gag, and be upset…but in a way that makes you feel more aware.
Obviously many trigger warnings: murder, mutilation, rape, abuse, molestation, racism, the full gambit
Graphic: Sexual violence, Torture, Trafficking, Gore, Violence, Medical trauma, Forced institutionalization, Racism, Pregnancy, Rape, Murder, and Pandemic/Epidemic
audragio's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- 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
Graphic: Pregnancy, Slavery, Sexual content, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Murder, Body horror, Child death, Classism, Forced institutionalization, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Pandemic/Epidemic, Cannibalism, Confinement, Gore, Death of parent, and Grief
izypup's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Child death, Infidelity, Murder, Slavery, Animal cruelty, Cannibalism, Gore, Blood, Death, Animal death, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Violence
Moderate: Death of parent and Car accident
Minor: Sexism, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, Rape, Medical content, Sexual violence, Vomit, Sexual assault, Torture, Toxic relationship, Confinement, Dementia, and Excrement
lea_david's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Violence, Cannibalism, Gore, Animal death, Slavery, Genocide, Racism, Rape, Sexual content, Body horror, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Blood, Child death, Forced institutionalization, Infertility, Sexual violence, Torture, Hate crime, Medical trauma, Miscarriage, Murder, Pandemic/Epidemic, Abortion, Animal cruelty, Grief, Pregnancy, Self harm, Sexual harassment, and Death
Not a book for everyone._stephk10's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Dementia, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Slavery, Infertility, Animal cruelty, Death of parent, Grief, Medical trauma, Sexual assault, Cannibalism, Child death, Sexual content, Trafficking, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Sexual violence, Classism, Murder, Animal death, Death, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Body horror, Rape, and Violence
emilie888's review
- 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? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Rape, Child death, Cannibalism, Trafficking, Physical abuse, Murder, Sexual assault, Torture, and Medical trauma
l_myers's review
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Pregnancy, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Gore, Blood, Cannibalism, Child death, Murder, Rape, Death of parent, Torture, Medical trauma, Death, Sexual assault, and Sexual content