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A review by autihd_elno
Tender Is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica
challenging
dark
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- 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
4.5
I didn't enjoy the process of reading this book, but it is very well crafted (and more than a little nauseating). The author does't spare you the details but I also didn't find her descriptions gratuitous. She engages successfully with themes around/gives you a springboard to think about: the power of language, the destruction and violence that come with capitalism, the nature of our actual (e.g. not human) meat industries and the ethics/morals (I never remember the difference) therein, among other topics!
I found this to be a powerful dystopia, it felt like the author had a grip on how she was handling it throughout, and I thought she handled the ending well - I found it to be satisfying (in so far as any ending that takes place in a world where society has decided to normalize cannibalism can be "satisfying," ha ha). To me, the end was a gut punch that felt both unanticipated and utterly obvious once I reflected on it. It fit well with the themes she was developing throughout the book, I thought!
I found this to be a powerful dystopia, it felt like the author had a grip on how she was handling it throughout, and I thought she handled the ending well - I found it to be satisfying (in so far as any ending that takes place in a world where society has decided to normalize cannibalism can be "satisfying," ha ha). To me,
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Gore, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Blood, Child death, Animal death, Sexual content, Cannibalism, Classism, Confinement, Dementia, Slavery, Torture, and Violence
Minor: Car accident, Classism, Sexual assault, Cursing, Death, Excrement, Pandemic/Epidemic, Medical content, Vomit, Grief, Infertility, and Infidelity
This book does not pull any punches as very as details are concerned. It is about a society that has embraced cannibalism and follows a character that works at a meat processing plant. I would not recommend it for the squeamish/those with weak stomachs as far as written descriptions of gore go. It was certainly a nauseating read.