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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
thecatconstellation's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Pacing is too slow at times and too fast at others. I didn’t find the ending shocking in the way some other reviewers did. I think this had some interesting things to say, but didn’t quite push far enough when it comes to exploring the government, capitalism, etc. Plenty of gore if that is your thing. Some parts are very beautifully written. The examination of grief is in my opinion much more effective than any sociopolitical argument being made.
Graphic: Death of parent, Murder, Death, Animal death, Cannibalism, Blood, Gore, Child death, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Trafficking, Infertility, Pandemic/Epidemic, Injury/Injury detail, Forced institutionalization, Dementia, Grief, Cursing, Confinement, Rape, Vomit, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Pedophilia, Torture, Slavery, and Physical abuse
Minor: Addiction, Drug use, Drug abuse, Car accident, and Alcohol
archivofrances's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
2.5
Graphic: Alcohol, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, Medical content, Murder, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Racism, Animal cruelty, Death, Gore, Grief, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Animal death, Blood, Child death, Cursing, Body horror, Cannibalism, Classism, Death of parent, Sexual violence, Infidelity, Slavery, and Violence
karapillar's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Infertility, Pandemic/Epidemic, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Child death, Classism, Grief, Infidelity, Vomit, Slavery, Violence, Confinement, Death, Excrement, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Cannibalism, Gore, Body horror, Mental illness, Blood, and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Medical content, Miscarriage, Child death, Death of parent, Cancer, Kidnapping, Racial slurs, Misogyny, Murder, and Alcohol
icarusandthesun'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? Yes
3.0
but it was brilliant and so smart.
the ideas were creative as much as they were brutal and gory.
i loved the unflinching brutality of it all. i like that it made me physically cringe, that it made me uncomfortable, that it shocked me. all the characters were super sinister and made the whole setting even more atmospheric and dark. the themes explored were great, the details disgusting (amazing) and the ending thrilling in a "he did WHAT" type of way.
my only criticism is that i was a little bored at times, since this book felt more like a long info-dump with a bit of drama in between than an actual novel. like an autobiography written by a man who lives this strange life in this dystopian world. it just wasn't enough to keep me interested and entertained. everything, from the story progression to the writing, was too slow for me.
so—great ideas, sick world-building, superb gore and body horror, exciting ending, but otherwise uneventful and dull story.
Graphic: Violence, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Infertility, Blood, Torture, Pregnancy, Animal cruelty, Confinement, Cannibalism, Animal death, Death, Physical abuse, Body horror, Child death, Grief, and Gore
Moderate: Excrement and Rape
Minor: Abortion, Alcohol, Infidelity, and Vomit
wends_nblw'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
2.75
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.
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
nialiversuch's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Ableism, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body shaming, Death, Forced institutionalization, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Infidelity, Medical content, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Blood, Body horror, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Murder, Pregnancy, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Vomit, Cannibalism, Car accident, Child death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Pandemic/Epidemic, Sexual content, Torture, Animal cruelty, Confinement, Death of parent, Dementia, Grief, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Trafficking, and Violence
mollylikethedrug_'s review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Animal death, Slavery, Excrement, Sexual content, Animal cruelty, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Cannibalism, Death, Murder, Physical abuse, Pandemic/Epidemic, Confinement, Gore, Body horror, and Torture
Minor: Dementia, Pregnancy, Medical content, Rape, Alcohol, Death of parent, Car accident, Infertility, Child death, Drug use, Sexual assault, and Trafficking
navayiota's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Infertility, Dementia, Animal death, Death of parent, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Pandemic/Epidemic, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Classism, Confinement, Grief, Blood, Child death, Death, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Slavery, Animal cruelty, Infidelity, Medical content, Murder, Body horror, Genocide, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Trafficking, and Violence
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Alcohol, and Car accident
Minor: Drug abuse
ecn's review against another edition
- 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
3.75
Graphic: Dementia, Confinement, Classism, Body horror, Murder, Sexual violence, Pedophilia, Grief, Trafficking, Racism, Gore, Death, Child death, Violence, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Blood, Antisemitism, Alcoholism, Miscarriage, Animal cruelty, Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Abortion, Alcohol, Torture, Medical trauma, Excrement, Death of parent, Cannibalism, Sexism, Rape, and Pandemic/Epidemic