Review: Tender is the Flesh by Augustina Bazterrica

4/5 Knives

What would happen if suddenly, one day, all animal meat became poisonous? What if, to make up for it, humans were bred for consumption instead?

These are the questions posed in Tender is the Flesh by Augustina Bazterrica.

The novel follows Marcos who is contending with his wife's abandonment, and his father's progressive dementia as he works at a local processing plant used to slaughter and prepare human meat. He begins to question is life and choices when he is gifted a live female specimen and begins to treat her like a human.

To say this book is disturbing would be an understatement. It is a bone-chilling and compelling story that takes an unflinching look at the process in which we prepare our food. It's written with such brutal and clinical detachment that it made my skin crawl. Tender is the Flesh does an excellent job of examining the human's combating needs of both saving themselves while simultaneously devouring themselves. The novel is grotesque, unsettling, and intensely thought-provoking. I found myself questioning where I would be on the food chain should something of this magnitude occur.

I was enthralled with Marcos' story, however I felt certain shifts in his character needed to occur for the ending to make sense. Somewhere toward the end I felt as though I lost grip of who Marcos really was, which made the ending less effective for me. And while I did truly enjoy the final passages and they will stick with me forever, the sudden change in Marcos was too abrupt for me to buy.

Overall, Tender is the Flesh is a fascinating and sickening story that I gobbled up in one sitting, and despite my misgivings about the ending, I greatly enjoyed and highly recommend this book.