If you think this blog title is crazy, wait. I recently read Tender is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica and let me tell you, it was so disturbingly horrifying I wasn’t able to put it down. Bazterrica did a wonderful job bringing this dystopian fiction to life by hinting at the depths of human depravity; hint might be too gentle of a word considering the entire novel is a nod to the darker sides of human nature.

This Novel has already set the bar high for the rest of the year and I want to share my thoughts on it. There will be spoilers but I will make sure to mark where so as not to ruin it for those currently reading!

Predator or Prey?

As mentioned above, Tender Is The Flesh is a fictional dystopian horror novel taking place in a world where cannibalism is now legal and publically accepted. The horror, to me, lies not in the gore. There isn’t any (minus one scene – if you’ve read the book you know). The talk of human slaughter is clinical and detached-it’s nothing more than a job with everyday annoyances.

What was truly horrifying was the mirroring of today’s society and the atrocities of the past. I’ve mentioned in my past articles (you can find here & here) about the importance of reading banned books and becoming aware of how history repeats (mostly to those that don’t learn it). It’s about seeing how this has happened before and is possible again given the classes drawn within society. What’s terrifying is the level of violence people use against one another. How they can justify and see nothing wrong in it.

The worst part of this book was holding out hope that someone would step up and a change would happen. what was realistic about this book was that you cannot pin your hopes on anyone. I won’t say I was happy with the ending but I liked its authenticity. The violence stuck around until the very end.

Tender Warnings, Not Bites

Before you proceed with this, I want to disclose a few trigger warnings for those who need them. This book mentions/talks about: rape, animal abuse, human experimentation, child death, and cannibalism. If these topics (just to name a few) don’t sit right with you, this isn’t the book for you.

The beginning of the book instantly reminded me of the pyramid of violence. It represents a continuation of abuse and highlights how common attitudes/beliefs uphold/form the basis for more extreme acts of violence. Perpetrators of this typically feed off the power they gain from the imposed power dynamics. Back to the book, it starts by changing the language (“special meat), moving to rigid stereotypes (“head”), to dehumanization, and further. A deeper look at this book and comparisons to recent events (along with Nazi Germany) will have you breaking out into a cold sweat.

This book is a horrendous breaking and remolding of society into something perverted and darkly twisted. It’s a reminder that if we aren’t careful we could end up here or worse.

Chew Thoroughly

Analysis + Spoilers

Propaganda and government declarations wouldn’t be enough to have me stay alive to be eaten; “Immigrants, the marginalized, the poor. They were prosecuted and eventually slaughtered,” pg 6. No, I’d have ended my life with those who couldn’t handle the transition, the knowledge and understanding that comes with it. Ultimately meat is meat. Anyone could be eaten if someone else became desperate enough (hello scavengers). However, what I find more interesting are those who embraced depravity and found a way to survive it with their minds intact.

Detestable Characters

Every one of these characters was complex and left a bad taste in my mouth. There was nothing “tender” about any of them. I want to say a resounding FUCK YOU to Marcos. I hoped he’d have some sort of compassion ESPECIALLY from someone that was born before “the transition.” His character’s true colors showed the more he spiraled. I started to hate this man after his interaction with Spanel- it opened my eyes to the level of depravity he was capable of. He wanted to break her. Exert control over her in a way that would crumble the shield she erected to survive as a human butcher. Marcos, who forcefully made Spanel confront her reality by ruining her indifference, was capable of violence against women. Don’t get me started on the ending with how he treated Jasmine. I WILL scream.

While Marcos’ lack of empathy towards women is concerning another character who is pretty up there in the ain’t shit department is Urlet. Where Marcos is sneaky in his depravity, Urlet is upfront and honest. He’s a carefully contained animal who enjoys reveling in acting on “primitive human instincts”. Urlet’s understanding/acceptance of human complexity is what allows him to thrive, he’s aware of the atrocities people commit and finds the normalization of it intriguing. I wouldn’t feel safe being in a room alone with him, but there is something to be said for the monster you do know. Gave me The Most Dangerous Game by Richard Connell vibes. Extremely unsettling, I felt like he could see anyones true intentions with enough interaction.

Honorable mentions: Spanel, Marisa & DR. VALKA

Lick Your Plate Clean

I just want to leave a list of a few grievances that made me want to scream at everything and nothing.

• Scavengers – The parallels between this group of people and those that are in the slaughter business for profit. The fact that this group is viewed as lowly as the human cattle is concerning (given the addictive quality of modified “special meat”). It won’t be long until a new group is turned into food.
• The conspiracy theory that the government made up the disease (mosquitoes arent an issue, but what happens if they sucked animal blood?). I would 100% back this and get assassinated. They’d totally do something this fucking extreme to deal with overpopulation.
• Death is a concept that’s easy for most people to dismiss, especially when it doesn’t directly impact them. This along with cognitive dissonance is probably why it’s super easy for Marcos and his coworkers to handle working at the slaughterhouse. Compartmentalization is key.
• Video games are still being used as an appropriate explanation of kids perpetuating disturbing and violent actions (playing Exquisite Corpse – how would they taste game). I suppose it is easier than holding the broken system accountable.
• The societal pressures still placed on women to center family over career (Dr. Valka). She also brings up great points on women needing to adhere to beauty standards (she’s an extremely demented individual).
• “She had the human look of a domesticated animal.” yeah that ending had me sick to my stomach. I’m going to let it sit here.

This book had me deep in thought. I’m still thinking about it and hope it sticks with me for the rest of the year. I hope I piqued your interest in this book.