Effectively an anti-factory farming polemic satirized to its shocking, inevitable conclusion, Tender Is the Flesh is a horrifying and grotesque piece of work.  Translated from the Spanish brilliantly by Sarah Moses, it tells the story of a man named Marcos who recently lost his son to a cot death and is estranged from his wife as a result.  Marcos works at a local processing plant - but instead of cattle, the plant farms and slaughters humans, following a virus which infected all non-human anima...

5.0 StarsThis has to be one of the most brutal and disturbing novels I have ever read. And I absolutely loved it.This story contained some incredibly visceral and disgusting scenes of body horror. Readers must expect all the possible content warnings in this book. I have never seriously considered becoming a vegetarian, but this book certainly made me think about it. I found meat absolutely disgusting while reading this book due to the stomach churning descriptions.Overall, I thought this book w...

Instagram || Twitter || Facebook || Amazon || PinterestTENDER IS THE FLESH has been on my radar for a while but I was a little worried about picking it up because it sounded intense and, as I have said in previous reviews, I am a soft and jellied wimp when it comes to horror. And this is no gentle, easy read: it's a dystopian work translated from Spanish (by way of Argentina) about a futuristic world in which a plague has rendered animals poisonous to humans, so humans are being born and bre

i can't contain my thoughts right now but a fuller review to come

It's always a delight to read science fiction in translation and even more that ava raris, Latin American science fiction. Latin American lit is so often crushed into the mold of magic realism that, like a black hole, publishing sucks up all the works that do not ascribe to that category and condemns them to darkness. But Tender is the Flesh is definitely science fiction. It would sit prettily (or disturbingly) next to The Road or Under the Skin. It has that quality of a literary, high-quality d...

So bleak and horrifying!! That ending had me like 🤯Reading vlog where I read it: https://youtu.be/ZuJK4T4tkRQ

The best final line in a novel since PET SEMATARY.

Sometimes I'll be talking with someone about a book and they'll see that I liked it but I will have to jump in and say, "That doesn't mean I recommend it," because they are two very different things. And this is one of those times. It doesn't mean I don't think TENDER IS THE FLESH should be read, but recommending requires thinking about the other reader and what they want, and I have to acknowledge that most readers are not going to want the kind of experience this book gives them. I have tagged...

A mysterious virus has eradicated animals to the brink of mass extinction. Left with no meat source to cultivate, humanity has turned to cannibalism to whet its appetite, satiate its ceaseless hunger for flesh and blood. Humans are now domesticated, mass produced, slaughtered, and sold for "special meat." Pickled fingers, barbecued ribs, broiled tongue served over kimchi and potato salad, taste humanity dressed in herbs and spices. Marcos is from the past generation. He was among those who witne...

FUUUUUUUUCK ok the ending got me

“No one can call them humans because that would mean giving them an identity. They call them product, or meat, or food.”This book was weird. It definitely succeeded at being repulsive and stomach-turning at times. And I thought it had some interesting ideas about words and how they are wielded to shape public opinion. But unfortunately it felt underdeveloped and a bit cold. I didn’t feel any connection to Marcos or what was happening, but instead felt so outside of the story I was only ever move...

Completely disgusting and beautiful at once. Humans are animals. My stomach churned the entire time, but I could not stop reading this book. And no, I did not, could not predict how it ends.

This is vile, bold, dark, vicious, gory, bloody, disturbing, eerie, volatile, provocative! Let out your screams! Prepare to sleep with lights on! If you suffer insomnia or still believe in monsters hide under your beds ( I personally recheck my closets and bed before going to bed) this book is not great fit for you ( when I still look my face paler than snow owl and bloodshot eyes make me great candidate for any B rated horror movie star, I absolutely agree to this opinion. Why the hell I chose

In its scathing and visceral indictment of factory farming, Tender is the Flesh seems to forget that politics and (in)justice extend beyond the—still important—realm of animal cruelty and capitalism. There is not nearly enough interrogating of broader themes in this book to justify its shock value, self-righteous narrator, and disgusting, dehumanizing portrayal of women and marginalized people.

Protecting Ourselves With WordsThose old enough will remember the confident chants at the Woodstock Festival in 1969: “No rain. No rain.” ( it rained buckets). Or many younger folk might have had the experience of being tucked in bed while saying their prayers at their parents’ direction: “… and God bless Mummy and Daddy and please help cure Grandma’s liver cancer.” (She died the next week). And we all know about the standard line by the hero in Westerns and B-movie Adventures: “Don’t worry Ma’a...

I have always believed that in our capitalist, consumerist society, we devour each other. - Agustina BazterricaThis story is really disturbing, and it isn't until the very last page that it becomes clear just how deeply disturbing it is.Tender Is the Flesh is an Argentinian import from an author who is apparently very popular in her own country. After reading this, dare I ask what other horrors she has created? This dystopian horror story is set in a world that feels so close to our own, except

Many might say that a book dealing with the level of brutality and horrific subject matter that makes up this book could never be thoughtful or highbrow. I disagree with that. I definitely think literature depicting graphic violence doesn't automatically disqualify it from being anything more than an assault on the senses or torture porn. I think it can lay out valuable examinations of so many aspects of society that deserve to be scrutinized, all while remaining allegorical. Battle Royale by Ko...

One of the most relentless and ugly books I've ever read. A book that describes a society where humans are slaughtered for meat, in more detail than I was ready for. This novel willfully refuses to allow itself to fall into any category of fiction that would make it easier to take as a reader. The flat direct style of its prose didn't allow me, as I read along, to think of it as horror, or satire, or a metaphorical representation of social injustice, or a nihilistic moral thesis about humanity.

Bold. Subversive. Punchy. Nauseating. Provocative. Challenging. Excessive. Polemical. Gruesome.In 1729, Jonathan Swift published a sustained Juvenalian satire called A Modest Proposal in which he solved in one move the economic and social woes of the starving poor, especially in Ireland: all they had to do was sell their children to be eaten by the rich, and not just would they become wealthy, but the population over-crowding would be eased as well. One line that has always stayed with me is thi...

reading vlog: https://youtu.be/AXpfik6Q72gThe love I have for this book has me looking at myself in a whole new light. THIS is my horror. I have found my perfect cocktail of disgust, intrigue, logic, and humanity.I am a firm believer in the government conspiracy side of this book. This has sparked so many good conversations for me with so many people. This might be a favorite of all time.