maddamreads 's review for:

Tender Is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica

3.5

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

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This book filled me with rage, disgust, sadness, thrill, and a whole other slew of emotions. Overall, the commentary on society, capitalism, grief, and dehumanization is striking. The prose in the translation is beautiful once you get used to it. That being said, some of the metaphors are a bit basic, and the storytelling might have been more effective as a short story. Then again, I wish some parts were more flushed out like

his grief over his child or father

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Murder

Moderate: Infertility, Alcohol, Pandemic/Epidemic

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Infidelity, Rape, Sexual content

I threw up once. If you can stand body horror and psychological horror, you’ll be okay.