Reviews tagging 'Abandonment'

Tender Is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica

38 reviews

abbyg007's review

dark 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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Blood, Death of parent, Body horror, Gore, Infertility, Child death, Animal death, Abandonment, Cannibalism, Death, Dementia, Grief, and Pregnancy

shewhoturnsallpages7834's review

challenging dark medium-paced

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

3.0

Marcos has a hyper-fixation on words. In world that literally rips the vocal cords of their facility breed "special meat" in order to circumvent the sounds of another human beings suffering, he continues to crave connection. His inner world is bleak yet descriptive when it comes to his judgments of others, and justifications of himself. 

 I was not mentally prepared for the gory details of the "processing plant" and I spend the first couple of pages with a permanent scowl on my face. Unsure of the virus is real or not, or a sinister conspiracy to allow humanity to capitalize on its lurking darkness, I am still struggling to wrap my mind around the decisions of the main character. Marcos appears to grapple with his almost nihilistic  decision to embrace cannibalism as part of his livelihood until a breakdown in his judgement leads to his ultimate prize. 

He oscalites between looking down on his peers in the "meat" industry and kind-of envying their easy adjustment to stripping other humans down to their most basic parts literally, for entertainment, religion, and entertainment.  Like many others in this story, Marcos acknowledges the cognitive dissonance of it all and he suffers in silence. His desire to have a family ultimately acts as the catalyst for his corruption and final act of immolation. There are not enough words to adequately described the grotesqueness of it all. Meat. Head. Product. Disgusting. This medium paced dystopian novel had a few "food of thought" moments but in the end, I would not revisit it in the future. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Pandemic/Epidemic, Blood, Physical abuse, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Sexual violence, Animal cruelty, Sexual assault, Murder, Body horror, Death of parent, Rape, Trafficking, Death, Grief, Suicide, Animal death, Infertility, Abandonment, Medical content, and Violence

miwandie's review

dark fast-paced

• 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? It's complicated

3.0

Fuck Marcos all my homies hate Marcos

The writing was engaging and well-paced but fell short when it came to  characters that were anyone but Marcos. 

Obviously the themes are supposed to be grotesque but oof,

the misogyny and *hints* at marginalized people suffering without really touching on or sympathizing with such themes was kinda gross.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cannibalism, and Child death

Moderate: Death, Violence, Classism, Animal cruelty, Grief, Infertility, Medical content, Murder, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Abandonment, Animal death, Pandemic/Epidemic, Pregnancy, Trafficking, Child death, Death of parent, Blood, Sexual harassment, and Sexual assault

xeno_reads's review

dark fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No

4.5

A thought provoking look into a mirror of what humanity can be. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Suicide, Trafficking, Grief, Kidnapping, Medical content, Physical abuse, Excrement, Infidelity, Pandemic/Epidemic, Rape, Pregnancy, Vomit, Ableism, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Animal death, Abandonment, Death, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Dementia, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Religious bigotry, Suicidal thoughts, Addiction, Blood, Infertility, Sexual violence, Animal cruelty, Cannibalism, Child death, Body horror, Torture, Confinement, Death of parent, Gore, Sexual assault, Violence, Murder, Slavery, Classism, and Sexual harassment

iridaceae's review

challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Violence, Animal cruelty, Chronic illness, Excrement, Forced institutionalization, Misogyny, Murder, Pregnancy, Trafficking, Sexism, Torture, Rape, Slavery, Animal death, Cannibalism, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Gore, Pandemic/Epidemic, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Abandonment, and Body horror

hunnybeebs_reads's review

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• 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, Death, Grief, Dementia, Classism, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Abortion, Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Pregnancy, Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Cannibalism, Child death, Gore, Violence, Torture, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Rape, and Pandemic/Epidemic

dragonterriers's review

challenging dark reflective tense fast-paced

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

4.25

this book is absolutely unrelenting until the last word, and not for the faint of heart nor the weak of stomach. the commentary is thought-provoking (though a little tired, to me), and the carnage is very illustrative and… brutal, if not a little gratuitous at times, but i suppose that’s the point. i am a long-time horror film fan that’s getting back into reading, and have been struggling to find a horror book that gives me the same ick as some of the movies i’ve seen - and boy howdy, i’ve found it. proceed with caution and mind the CW/TWs, but if you’re down to explore the philosophical doom spectrum of moral greys to absolute depravity, strap in, this is for you. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Cannibalism, Murder, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Violence, Pandemic/Epidemic, Sexual violence, Death, Gore, Torture, Child death, Animal cruelty, and Animal death

Moderate: Abandonment

Minor: Grief, Alcohol, Vomit, Excrement, Classism, and Misogyny

orlagal's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Excrement, Genocide, Medical content, Medical trauma, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Classism, Death, Mental illness, Murder, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Pregnancy, Violence, Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Abandonment, Ableism, Animal death, Grief, Physical abuse, Trafficking, Vomit, Blood, Cannibalism, Dementia, Gore, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Sexual violence, and Slavery

zizzle's review

dark emotional 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

4.0

deeply disturbing in ways i did not expect. tough read. phenomenal world building! excellent writing. has a way of both telling AND showing the reader how disgusting things are. relatable enough MC to make readers question their own morality. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Pandemic/Epidemic, Infertility, Grief, Gore, Dementia, Death of parent, Death, Trafficking, Torture, Sexual content, Pregnancy, Animal cruelty, Abandonment, Child death, Cannibalism, Body horror, and Animal death

Minor: Rape

bibliofanatic's review

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Cannibalism, Death, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Body horror, Grief, Kidnapping, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Classism, Dementia, Gore, Infertility, Addiction, Animal cruelty, Blood, Torture, and Violence