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autumnf 's review for:
Tender Is the Flesh
by Agustina Bazterrica
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
OOF. Well I wanted to be disturbed by a book so I picked this up annnd INDEED I WAS DISTURBED. The concept really intrigued me and I wanted to go outside my usual genre. And I made this face throughout most of the book: đłđłđł so, mission accomplished.
Needless to say, the subject matter is pretty heavy so definitely CHECK TRIGGER WARNINGS (it seriously has allll the triggers). This book is thought-provoking on the social commentary of how humans treat each other and how our society can slowly over time be convinced to do despicable things to each other. Not to mention, drawing direct parallels to the meat processing industry does make you think about eating animals in a different way. I did wonder if reading this would turn me off of meat for awhile (it didnât, I love bacon too much). Some have said this was very gory but it has exactly the amount of gore youâd expect a horror novel about industrialized cannibalism to have.
So why my rating? Well my feelings about this book are contradictory. I loved that it was straightforward in explaining the backstory of this dystopian society (the reader quickly understands how they got to this point of normalizing cannibalism), this book gives big Animal Farm vibes, and I loved that it was short with short chapters. I think it was quick and to-the-point with the message it was trying to convey. However, despite that I liked its succinctness, I think it couldâve said more. I wanted more depth to the characters for the horror to be more visceral. Some chapters felt unnecessary, though most subplots did support the overall story and arc of the main character. I just feel like more couldâve been done with this plot for it to really pack a heavy punch. But maybe that was the point; it didnât need to go in-depth for the reader to grasp the horror of it.
Also it justâŚwas a bit of a slog. Maybe that was the depressing subject matter, maybe that was because our main character was just touring a lot of meat processing plants without a whole lot happening for several chapters. And of course, thereâs the huge issue of consent in the two sex scenes, which wasnât really addressed afterwards. The ending though? Quick and SHOCKING. Mind = blown. It was the perfect ending for the message of the book, which redeemed the slow and pointlessness parts of it a bit.
This book was also translated to English from Spanish so itâs possible some contexts were just lost in translation.
Overall, I got what I came for; I was disturbed, I paused and said âWTFâ several times, and it definitely got me thinking. It was a ride.
Did I enjoy reading this? No.
Am I glad I read it? Yes.
Would I recommend it to everyone? Hell no.
Needless to say, the subject matter is pretty heavy so definitely CHECK TRIGGER WARNINGS (it seriously has allll the triggers). This book is thought-provoking on the social commentary of how humans treat each other and how our society can slowly over time be convinced to do despicable things to each other. Not to mention, drawing direct parallels to the meat processing industry does make you think about eating animals in a different way. I did wonder if reading this would turn me off of meat for awhile (it didnât, I love bacon too much). Some have said this was very gory but it has exactly the amount of gore youâd expect a horror novel about industrialized cannibalism to have.
So why my rating? Well my feelings about this book are contradictory. I loved that it was straightforward in explaining the backstory of this dystopian society (the reader quickly understands how they got to this point of normalizing cannibalism), this book gives big Animal Farm vibes, and I loved that it was short with short chapters. I think it was quick and to-the-point with the message it was trying to convey. However, despite that I liked its succinctness, I think it couldâve said more. I wanted more depth to the characters for the horror to be more visceral. Some chapters felt unnecessary, though most subplots did support the overall story and arc of the main character. I just feel like more couldâve been done with this plot for it to really pack a heavy punch. But maybe that was the point; it didnât need to go in-depth for the reader to grasp the horror of it.
Also it justâŚwas a bit of a slog. Maybe that was the depressing subject matter, maybe that was because our main character was just touring a lot of meat processing plants without a whole lot happening for several chapters. And of course, thereâs the huge issue of consent in the two sex scenes, which wasnât really addressed afterwards. The ending though? Quick and SHOCKING. Mind = blown. It was the perfect ending for the message of the book, which redeemed the slow and pointlessness parts of it a bit.
This book was also translated to English from Spanish so itâs possible some contexts were just lost in translation.
Overall, I got what I came for; I was disturbed, I paused and said âWTFâ several times, and it definitely got me thinking. It was a ride.
Did I enjoy reading this? No.
Am I glad I read it? Yes.
Would I recommend it to everyone? Hell no.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Death, Rape, Blood, Cannibalism, Murder
Minor: Child death, Confinement, Dementia, Death of parent, Alcohol, Classism