A review by b00ksandqu0tes
Tender is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica

challenging dark reflective tense medium-paced
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

 Horrifying.  
So. We're eating humans. And what made this book most horrifying was how much sense it all made. The decline and connection between money and power and the government. How people trust what they see and hear without evidence, so they can be guided by social media, the news, and people with little practical knowledge or experience, just loud voices. 
And as a person who loves language and nerds out over how we use words, the rebranding of the entire meat industry was such a cool thing to read about - ESPECIALLY when you consider that this whole book was translated. With the rebranding, it becomes absolutely awful they have taken these words to make "others" out of their meat. It is on par with how the meat industry handles our animals today, and without the few "slips" in the narration, it would honestly be easy to forget that they are eating humans. So whenever that is sharply pulled back into your mind, as a reader you are horrified that it wasn't always 100% at the forefront of your thoughts. 

Rending. 
Marcos' life is falling apart - he remembers before the Transition and struggles with the world he is in, for many reasons. He is grieving a serious loss while simultaneously preparing himself for his father's death. He is alone in his home and rarely talks to Cecilia, his wife. Marcos' whole existence is heartbreaking, and experiencing what he does as an integral part of his factory continues to break him and us. 
As a reader, you also witness detailed descriptions of what is happening. Not only do you visit Marcos' processing plant, but the settings also cover a butchery, sports hunting arena, scientific lab, and homes raising their own 'head'. Through these experiences, for me the single most heart rending situation is when the human 'livestock' are described. Not when they are being broken and battered, but their faces, their eyes, and their expressions. 

Satiating.
This is a book I will never pick up again. This is a book that breaks you and continues to do so. This is a book that opens up all of the ugly in society, that calls to question how we treat others (not just human, but the animals and our planet) and the way we allow entities to control us. It brings into spotlight the terrible things we do in order to get what we want. 
It is also, in a word, full. Two hundred pages. It's a quick read that will take you forever. I sat for what felt like forever after finishing and tried to put into words how I was feeling. I'm still thinking about this book. I will be thinking about this book for years. Did I enjoy it? No. But it is important. It has given me much to think about. 
And the two of the most important aspects in a novel were present for me: first, the language that was used was incredibly targeted and held great weight. This is a great book to read if you love looking at how word choice affects tone, especially since diction is actively discussed within the book itself. Second, it has a perfect ending. The way it ends is the only realistic and true-to-character direction it could have gone. Marcos takes hold of everything and gives himself the ending that is perfect for him. 
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