A review by kawooreads
Tender Is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica

dark tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

My review will be brief on this one and while I will avoid detailed descriptions of subject matter it should be known that this book deserves heavy Content Warning: obscene violence, torture, imprisonment, body horror, animal abuse, basically every imaginable Crime Against Humanity! 
This book was making the rounds on Book Tok so I was intrigued by it. Not huge in the horror genre, I do like to dabble in some of the disturbing offerings sometimes because they can offer very morbid allegory for real life. While the idea behind this book does speak to the morals of our mass consumption and comodification of animals for food and other human needs, as well as our ability to do right by our fellow man when truly tested by horrifying circumstances, I felt like the message never got in deep enough. As a result, this book is basically what I would consider "Slaughterhouse Porn" where there was just example after example of how the human body can be dissected to meet our needs. Due to global viral catastrophe, animals essentially become poisonous, and thus humans become the new livestock.  Unless you are a mega super fan of obscene and gory horror books, maybe don't pick this one up. I made it to the end of this one desperate for a redeeming story, but I didn't get it. 

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