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A review by evrythingoes
Tender Is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica

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

2.5

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.
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