A review by books_onthe_ground
Tender Is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica

challenging dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? N/A
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

The thing that really shocks me is how BADLY this book has been marketed by social media. If you see this book on somewhere like TikTok don’t listen if they tell you it’s a thriller or a horror book or a disturbing tale of cannibalism because it isn’t. Is it about cannibalism? On the surface yes. But it’s so so so much more than that. 
This book is a socialist commentary about natural disasters, government’s inability to deal with said disasters and the subsequent abuse of power of corporations and the media and that affect on people. It is also about grief and family and morality and the actions of humans in horrible situations. This book looks at the desensitisation and normalisation of tragedy and horror and how people adapt to deal with it. It’s so fucking accurate as well. THATS where the horror is. 
This book is horrific but not because it’s about eating people but because it’s so so accurate in its depiction of how our current society and government would act in this hypothetical situation. I can absolutely see this book becoming a reality because of issues such as the corruption of power, classism and elitism. 
The way this book is written is also beautifully unsettling with its casual tone and methodical descriptions. Everything from the tense used to the pacing to the language to the structure elevates the impact of the novel and highlights its key themes and ideas. 
This is a stunning novel and one that I really hope gets added to some curriculum to be analysed because there’s just so much stuff to talk about. Honestly I’m tempted to write a script for a video essay going through the book and talking about every little detail. I think the marketing and media hype has REALLY let this book down because people are going into it with a completely different idea of what they think the book is. If this book is on your TBR put it to the top. If you read one book this year I as that this is a contender. However as you can imagine this book is very heavy so here are the TW I can think of off the top of my head but I highly recommend you look them up especially if you are sensitive to more dark and disturbing media. 
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