Reviews tagging 'Suicide'

Tender is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica

181 reviews

shewhoturnsallpages7834's review against another edition

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. 

---

Content Warnings

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

cassandrareadsbooks's review against another edition

dark sad fast-paced

• 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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Death, Homophobia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Excrement, Trafficking, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic

jake_windish's review against another edition

challenging dark sad fast-paced

4.5

A story unlike any other. A brutally simple and simply brutal tale. I wasn’t sure in the first half if it was doing anything for me, but it all comes around by the end—and it’s an end that’ll stay with me for some time.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Cannibalism, and Murder

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death of parent, and Pregnancy

Minor: Child death, Rape, Self harm, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Suicide

xeno_reads's review against another edition

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. 

---

Content Warnings

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

bre_terry's review against another edition

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Cannibalism

Minor: Suicide

oriana095's review against another edition

challenging dark 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

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Gore, Torture, Violence, Blood, Cannibalism, and Murder

Moderate: Child death, Rape, Sexual violence, Death of parent, and Pregnancy

Minor: Suicide, Vomit, and Trafficking

ainslieruhl's review against another edition

every word of this book made me cringe and feel gross. blahhhh. knew i wouldn’t like it but was looking for something short so figured i would give it a try. really it’s my own fault, and maybe this book is for other people, but cannot express how much it is not for me.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual violence, Suicide, Cannibalism, and Murder

Moderate: Death, Gore, Rape, Terminal illness, Abortion, and Pregnancy

reillym's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Demented and beautiful. I had chills at the end. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Trafficking, Grief, Cannibalism, Murder, Pregnancy, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Excrement, Dementia, Death of parent, Colonisation, and Classism

oli_par's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Infertility, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Rape, Sexual violence, and Suicide

dixiecarroll's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

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

3.0

This wasn't THAT bad, and I didn't feel as strongly as others do, but I do agree that it didn't exactly fulfill any purpose. It felt like it was all for shock value than for making a point, which is painfully clear from page one. (Meat industry is corrupt if you didn't know) Ultimately it was readable and I was engrossed, but there was one scene towards the middle that made me have spontaneous empathy tears - let's just say *celebrity* - and I wasn't really prepared for that. Overall... idk it felt pointless and I wasn't convinced of anything new. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Racism, Rape, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Medical content, Dementia, Trafficking, Cannibalism, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail