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challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Cannibalism
Moderate: Sexual content, Pregnancy
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Miscarriage, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Pandemic/Epidemic
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This read was not what I was expecting at all. I didn’t know what to expect when I started but certainly not this.
At face value, it’s a short novel and I should’ve finished it in a day, but the contents were so unsettling, I just couldn’t stomach it all in one sitting. In a way, I liked how developed Marcos' character was, but, I can’t say I ever found myself enjoying my reading experience. If anything, it made me very concerned for Bazterrica's wellbeing — I'll just leave it at that.
With regarded disdain for those around him that openly justify the production of genetically modified humans as food, I initially received the impression that he compartmentalizes his contributions towards this cannibalistic system as a means of “survival” or from learned dissociative behavior – just going through the motions. However, it eventually became clear to me that our narrator is disturbingly unreliable and not at all who he leads himself to be — probably even worse than those he looks down upon.
At face value, it’s a short novel and I should’ve finished it in a day, but the contents were so unsettling, I just couldn’t stomach it all in one sitting. In a way, I liked how developed Marcos' character was, but, I can’t say I ever found myself enjoying my reading experience. If anything, it made me very concerned for Bazterrica's wellbeing — I'll just leave it at that.
With regarded disdain for those around him that openly justify the production of genetically modified humans as food, I initially received the impression that he compartmentalizes his contributions towards this cannibalistic system as a means of “survival” or from learned dissociative behavior – just going through the motions. However, it eventually became clear to me that our narrator is disturbingly unreliable and not at all who he leads himself to be — probably even worse than those he looks down upon.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Violence, Blood, Murder
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Misogyny, Trafficking, Alcohol
Minor: Racism, Rape, Suicidal thoughts
challenging
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
The only reason I'm not rating this book higher is because it was so disturbing and I can't say I enjoyed it. I read it in a day with lots of pauses, because I both couldn't put it down but also couldn't read it at times! A bit on the nose at times with how graphic it was in the points it was making about animal cruelty, but I guess that was the point. I would recommend checking the trigger warnings for this book, even if you're not easily disturbed. There were some subtle character development nods that I missed on first glance and were really well done. The ending, which I won't spoil, was also done well. I did feel though that first person narrative would've made this better as I often felt like I was reading from the perspective of an unreliable narrator, but then maybe the disconnection of 3rd person was intentional? Either way, this book's message was still very powerful.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Gore, Rape, Torture, Murder
challenging
dark
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I’m shocked I’m rating this so high. I started it just expecting lots of shock factor and disturbing content. Which I got! It was very disturbing but well written and just shows how selfish and absurd humans can be. So intriguing and thought-provoking that these people are disgusted by slavery and by murdering “heads with a first and last name” but brutalizing the ones made for killing, (and the extremely disturbing animal abuse, that one got me), while not acknowledging the very real actions they do by avoiding words like “cannibalism” “humans” “human meat” “baby” etc. The ending!!!!! Will never read again, but it was a gripping and confronting.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Excrement, Grief, Cannibalism, Murder, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail, Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Ableism, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Sexism, Sexual content, Slavery, Terminal illness, Dementia, Death of parent, Alcohol, Classism
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
(libby audiobook, recommended by theo)
so. this is A Lot. very interesting premise and definitely something i’ll be thinking about for a long time. i liked the setup of marcos as a complicit/hypocritical narrator even as he is so vocally disgusted with his world. it makes for a really engaging back and forth between what he says and what he does and highlights how every character has their own relationship with the Transition, even if we don’t get to see it.
that being said, jesus. i wouldn’t say the pacing is necessarily slow, but extensive, detailed worldbuilding for a world that i personally did not want to stay in made it feel like a slog at times. i think the gratuitousness is part of the point, and i think it mostly works, but up until the ~70% mark it definitely felt like we were just bopping around aimlessly with marcos. it’s still interesting given the world he’s in and illustrate the industrial/bureaucratic aspects of everything, but it makes the book feel easily twice as long as it actually is. i don’t mind dread, but at a certain point it becomes a bit numbing. idk. would definitely still recommend to anyone interested in cannibalism/dystopian horror or your local vegan
so. this is A Lot. very interesting premise and definitely something i’ll be thinking about for a long time. i liked the setup of marcos as a complicit/hypocritical narrator even as he is so vocally disgusted with his world. it makes for a really engaging back and forth between what he says and what he does and highlights how every character has their own relationship with the Transition, even if we don’t get to see it.
that being said, jesus. i wouldn’t say the pacing is necessarily slow, but extensive, detailed worldbuilding for a world that i personally did not want to stay in made it feel like a slog at times. i think the gratuitousness is part of the point, and i think it mostly works, but up until the ~70% mark it definitely felt like we were just bopping around aimlessly with marcos. it’s still interesting given the world he’s in and illustrate the industrial/bureaucratic aspects of everything, but it makes the book feel easily twice as long as it actually is. i don’t mind dread, but at a certain point it becomes a bit numbing. idk. would definitely still recommend to anyone interested in cannibalism/dystopian horror or your local vegan
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Trafficking, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Suicide
challenging
dark
emotional
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Ending leaves you feeling stabbed in the gut. A true horror novel written with grit.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Rape, Blood, Dementia, Trafficking, Murder
dark
reflective
tense
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
Right from the cover, the reader is confronted with the question: "If everybody was eating human meat, would you?" The entire book revolves around this thought experiment, exploring how a society could come to accept the unacceptable. How do people justify it? How does the younger generation, born into this reality, perceive it?
This book is an unsettling exploration of moral deterioration and what it takes to normalize the unthinkable. It’s a great read for those interested in speculative fiction that delves into the human psyche. However, it can be deeply uncomfortable at times—definitely check the content warnings and read at your own pace. Personally, I alternated it with lighter books and only picked it back up when I felt ready to engage with its heavy themes.
Overall, my only wish was for a deeper exploration of the world itself, though I understand that wasn’t the book’s main focus.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Gore, Rape, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Cannibalism, Murder, Pregnancy
Moderate: Body horror
Minor: Child death
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I don't really know how all I feel about this book. I wish I was able to read it in its original language. I think the translator might've done it a disservice... there were a lot of points where I thought that what was being said would've sounded a lot more elegant and less clunky in the author's original words.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Rape, Cannibalism, Murder
Moderate: Child death
Minor: Homophobia
challenging
dark
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
okay, wow. i have no words.
this book made me simultaneously sad and disgusted. i could have done without thepuppy torture scene, but there was something especially captivating about the abandoned zoo. things got a little fucky wucky when marcos fucked the woman he had in his barn , so i also could have done without that, but it did seem like an important part of the plot and the message behind the book. overall this was highly interesting and the writing sucked me in, but it was certainly not a pleasant vibe.
this book made me simultaneously sad and disgusted. i could have done without the
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Torture, Cannibalism, Murder