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A review by underscoremeg
Tender Is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Despite the content warnings, this book was easy to consume! The writing is skillful and detailed without being disgusting.
In the future, the animals of the world come down with a virus that is lethal to humans, making them unable to be eaten. Because of this, humans have resorted to commercializing cannibalism.
The main character is the manager of a meat processing plant and the book follows him through his experiences working with other businesses in the meat market, including breeders, hunters, butchers, and leather goods. We see the world through his perspective, learning his feelings about the state of the world as well as his own personal life and challenges.
This book was described to me as deeply disturbing and disgusting. I wasn’t bothered by much of the gore. There is DEFINITELY gore, but it’s all described in such a detached manner that it’s really not a body horror disgust. The horror of this book was much more mental for me - the thought of humans being raised to be slaughtered for meat is crazy.
The book takes things a step further, though, when the main character is gifted a female and he slowly begins to treat her like a real person, rather than an animal to be slaughtered.
In the future, the animals of the world come down with a virus that is lethal to humans, making them unable to be eaten. Because of this, humans have resorted to commercializing cannibalism.
The main character is the manager of a meat processing plant and the book follows him through his experiences working with other businesses in the meat market, including breeders, hunters, butchers, and leather goods. We see the world through his perspective, learning his feelings about the state of the world as well as his own personal life and challenges.
This book was described to me as deeply disturbing and disgusting. I wasn’t bothered by much of the gore. There is DEFINITELY gore, but it’s all described in such a detached manner that it’s really not a body horror disgust. The horror of this book was much more mental for me - the thought of humans being raised to be slaughtered for meat is crazy.
The book takes things a step further, though, when the main character is gifted a female and he slowly begins to treat her like a real person, rather than an animal to be slaughtered.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Gore, Death, Animal death, Pregnancy, Alcoholism, Violence, Cannibalism, Death of parent, and Grief