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A review by dustghosts
Tender Is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
+ the writing style itself is objectively beautiful; the narration serves the story and the author’s intent to capture the banality of evil. could probably read this author write about just about anything else but—
- least sympathetic MC of all timeto the extent that I’m frankly kind of shocked to read other reviews where people were surprised at the twist.
- the author says that she doesn’t write for audience reactions (ie: to shock the reader) OR to advance a political agenda, and i think the refusal to commit to either of these things is what solidifies my Biggest Feeling: that horrors that have been historically and are currently enacted against marginalized groups of real people are here played as fiction that mostly serves as imagery or shock value (whether intentional or not).passing mentions of slavery and “hunting african people” or “wanting black skins,” allusions to Colleen Stan, snappy commentary about human trafficking— this isn’t a book that treads lightly on gruesome imagery or laborious scenes of violence, but these references feel shallow and ill-addressed when compared to the writer’s imagined terrors and sequences. Ultimately, feels dismissive of an actual past/present in favor of an imagined possible future. I think the author recognizes that these are real things that happened, but playing them off as small portions of an even worse possible future feels diminishing of the things the book is supposedly trying to make us aware of, obfuscates reality in favor of hyperbole.
- i thought that some of the scenes and narration might have been hinting at how people, especially the privileged, value animal (as in pets, specifically) life over humans’ (and the atrocities committed in the name of capitalism, racism, sexism, the intersections) but after reading some interviews I think this may be a viewpoint the writer… holds… rather than is criticizing
- bizarre amount of vitriol and misogyny against every female character in this book— can’t trust whether this is a feature or a flaw but it was absolutely wretched to listen to the mc degrade every woman he encountered even more than the objectively worse and more powerful men that he spent more time with. may be purposeful but didnt make for an enjoyable or surprising read
- edit: I’m also still struggling with the general conceit of the book. that the government would employ egregious propaganda as a means of population control (mentally and literally)? sure. that the world-at-large would accept cannibalism as a solution to lost animal protein rather than adapting and inventing new forms of protein, less so. but here’s where I DO think the author is trying to make a political statement (about our attachment to the meat industry and the “need” to eat meat), and working from a very specific cultural touchstone, so it’s not a major gripe.
overall had a bad time this is my 2022-reading-experience hereditary (derogatory). glad there are people enjoying it but this was the worst and not even scary
- least sympathetic MC of all time
- the author says that she doesn’t write for audience reactions (ie: to shock the reader) OR to advance a political agenda, and i think the refusal to commit to either of these things is what solidifies my Biggest Feeling: that horrors that have been historically and are currently enacted against marginalized groups of real people are here played as fiction that mostly serves as imagery or shock value (whether intentional or not).
- i thought that some of the scenes and narration might have been hinting at how people, especially the privileged, value animal (as in pets, specifically) life over humans’ (and the atrocities committed in the name of capitalism, racism, sexism, the intersections) but after reading some interviews I think this may be a viewpoint the writer… holds… rather than is criticizing
- bizarre amount of vitriol and misogyny against every female character in this book— can’t trust whether this is a feature or a flaw but it was absolutely wretched to listen to the mc degrade every woman he encountered even more than the objectively worse and more powerful men that he spent more time with. may be purposeful but didnt make for an enjoyable or surprising read
- edit: I’m also still struggling with the general conceit of the book. that the government would employ egregious propaganda as a means of population control (mentally and literally)? sure. that the world-at-large would accept cannibalism as a solution to lost animal protein rather than adapting and inventing new forms of protein, less so. but here’s where I DO think the author is trying to make a political statement (about our attachment to the meat industry and the “need” to eat meat), and working from a very specific cultural touchstone, so it’s not a major gripe.
overall had a bad time this is my 2022-reading-experience hereditary (derogatory). glad there are people enjoying it but this was the worst and not even scary
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cannibalism, Confinement, Gore, Grief, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Murder, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Torture, Trafficking, Violence, Child death, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Sexism, and Slavery
Moderate: Dementia, Death of parent, Miscarriage, Suicide attempt, Excrement, Homophobia, and Kidnapping