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A review by sdsmith80
Tender Is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
<strong>Truly the most disturbing book I've ever read ***Spoilers***</strong>
I don't know why I put this book off for so long, but I'm kicking myself for waiting.
Tender is the Flesh is a short, dystopian novel where there are no animals, and eating humans is now the norm. It is truly disturbing, not through anything gross, although there are graphic depictions of violence and death, but through the utter callousness that humans are capable of, and the mental gymnastics they'll go through in order to justify their behavior.
A virus has supposedly spread through all animals, making it deadly to eat any non-human livestock. Of course, like The Purge, the virus may not be all it's cracked up to be.
We follow Marcos through his daily life, and learn that after losing his baby to SIDS, he has become disillusioned about the state of the world and the practice of cannibalism. He continues to do his job at the processing plant that once belonged to his father, as the go-between for the new owner, with the clients and suppliers. Marcos sees death and horror every day, but is no longer as unfeeling about it all as he appears.
When he is gifted with a First Generation Pure female, it's a breaking point. He crosses boundaries with her and impregnates her. He's the only human she's known, other than the captors who raised her to be food. She's naive and trusting.
As disturbing as his actions with her are, I truly believed he was regaining some of his humanity. Maybe he would fake her death so they could live as close to happily ever after as there could be in a world like that. By the end though, his goal is clear. She has given him a child, and although he may have treated her somewhat more humanely than others, he has just used her body for his own means as well, and he discards of her easily.
I truly believe this is the most disturbing book I've ever read, but in the best way. No gross-out horror, just the true monsters, us.
If you're looking for bleak, dark, and utterly human horror, this is the book for you. I can't wait to read more from this author!
I don't know why I put this book off for so long, but I'm kicking myself for waiting.
Tender is the Flesh is a short, dystopian novel where there are no animals, and eating humans is now the norm. It is truly disturbing, not through anything gross, although there are graphic depictions of violence and death, but through the utter callousness that humans are capable of, and the mental gymnastics they'll go through in order to justify their behavior.
We follow Marcos through his daily life, and learn that after losing his baby to SIDS, he has become disillusioned about the state of the world and the practice of cannibalism. He continues to do his job at the processing plant that once belonged to his father, as the go-between for the new owner, with the clients and suppliers. Marcos sees death and horror every day, but is no longer as unfeeling about it all as he appears.
When he is gifted with a First Generation Pure female, it's a breaking point. He crosses boundaries with her and impregnates her. He's the only human she's known, other than the captors who raised her to be food. She's naive and trusting.
As disturbing as his actions with her are, I truly believed he was regaining some of his humanity. Maybe he would fake her death so they could live as close to happily ever after as there could be in a world like that. By the end though, his goal is clear. She has given him a child, and although he may have treated her somewhat more humanely than others, he has just used her body for his own means as well, and he discards of her easily.
I truly believe this is the most disturbing book I've ever read, but in the best way. No gross-out horror, just the true monsters, us.
If you're looking for bleak, dark, and utterly human horror, this is the book for you. I can't wait to read more from this author!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Racism, Animal death, Blood, Death, Gore, Animal cruelty, Grief, Murder, Slavery, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Ableism, Body horror, Cannibalism, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Medical trauma, Classism, and Violence
Moderate: Child death, Sexual assault, Alcohol, Vomit, Rape, Excrement, and Sexual violence