A review by rmnedder
Tenderloin by Joy Sorman

dark reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Tenderloin is a fever-dream. The prose is fast and fractured, a somewhat disjointed stream-of-thought that I really enjoyed. There's something interesting about the narrative style; it feels almost like an urban legend, which parallels the interludes nicely. I did feel some distance from the main character, but I do think it's a side-effect of the narrative style. There are some lovely secondary themes in this book - questions about the ethics of butchery and meat consumptions, the relationship between sex and meat, butchery and desire - that I feel are unfortunately underutilized. If they had been worked in more cohesively with the central story, I think it would have made the novella on a whole far more compelling, and particularly strengthened the ending. 
Tenderloin is a strange, strange book that, even if slightly undercooked, was still definitely worth the read. Pun intended.
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