Review by nookofley - Tender Is the Flesh

nookofley 's review for:

Tender Is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica

3.25

dark tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: N/A

Flaws of characters a main focus: N/A

I finished this book and just sat there for a while and my first thought was, "Is this what vegans think of people who eat meat?"

This book tries so hard to be political and the same time fails at getting anywhere with its message because of the amount of space the MC's personal thoughts

(which ends up being contradicted by the plot twist)

and his observation about the emptiness without the animals feels like. There is so many message everywhere in the book about classism, capitalism, human brutality, and Marcos' personal life that made you question, "WHAT on earth is this author trying to tell you?". IF fleshed out properly and focused on one theme, this book would've been a more memorable.

Now, for the ending, I think this just nullifies everything we learned about Marcos. I love unreliable narrators but I am trying so hard to see where did his mindset change or have been not reading it correctly? And what does the cockroach he keeps seeing in his sister's house means?

Content Warnings