Reviews tagging 'Confinement'

Tender Is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica

570 reviews

torturedreadersdept's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Infertility, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Medical content, Dementia, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic

krsb's review against another edition

dark sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Loveable characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Bazterrica accomplishes exactly what dystopian books should be: a commentary on some aspect of humanity through a warped depiction of a world similar to the one we live in. She creates a society with issues that seem drastic and extreme, but upon comparison mirrors ours. 

Despite the plot and writing being objectively very good, I can't say that I enjoyed reading this. Every character was awful and cruel, and that's after looking at them through the morality of their society. Even the main character, who continually expresses his disgust towards those around him for participating in the "Transition", but then does exactly the same when it benefits him. 
However, this is not me criticizing the author's work—being uncomfortable is the point of the book.

Additionally, the world building is very thoughtful for as short as the book is. The main character is in a position where part of his job is to visit the different businesses that the processing plant works with, and Bazterrica provides an in-depth, description of the inside of each of these places (and the horrors that take place in them). She also includes little details that distinguish the dystopian world they live in from ours: the fact that hearses and cemeteries are no longer used, that most people go outside with umbrellas to protect against birds, and the absence of animals from their society and how it affects life. 

If you like complex literature and have a high tolerance for this kind of content, then you should read this book. It's definitely very different from anything I've ever read before.

(Trigger warning for practically everything, check it out below)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Confinement, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Cannibalism, and Murder

Moderate: Body horror, Child death, Infidelity, Rape, Slavery, Torture, Blood, and Dementia

Minor: Trafficking, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic

naatg's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Sexual violence, Violence, Cannibalism, and Injury/Injury detail

sydneyrose18's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Gore, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Vomit

Minor: Alcohol

catherinececilia's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Cannibalism

Moderate: Body horror, Child death, Confinement, and Death

beebookcandle's review against another edition

Too disturbing 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Infidelity, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, and Cannibalism

Moderate: Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Infertility, Infidelity, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Dysphoria, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic

junowo's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Nauseating in the best way. This would’ve been an easy book to write poorly, to lean into a tirade, to take away the complexity of meaning in. Augustina Bazterrica avoided practically every trap door, and I’m very impressed.

I was horrified by this book, but it was such an incredible read, and I loved it for book club especially because there are so many layers of meaning in every choice made. I especially enjoyed (a word that feels strange to use) the way that the book ended, which caught me entirely off guard. I won’t say more, but I was shell shocked when this book ended and it hadn’t gone the way I anticipated.

This book *did* make me happy to be vegetarian while reading it, that’s for sure. Lastly, the content warnings here are about to be next level.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Fatphobia, Genocide, Gore, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Medical content, Dementia, Trafficking, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic

urfavpunk's review against another edition

Too messed up for me to read currently

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Gore, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual violence, Trafficking, Murder, Pregnancy, and Pandemic/Epidemic

neurocat's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

A good book in terms of writing about complex themes and topics as well incorporating depth and layers in the text. Personally, I think certain sections could be improved by giving us more context or background information but overall an excellent read that will haunt you for weeks!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Gore, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Confinement, Car accident, and Classism

Minor: Racism, Torture, Xenophobia, Excrement, and Trafficking

A lot of the content is disturbing but it’s not to challenge readers on how much gore we can handle but rather the importance of our reactions and how we handle the topics. This book is not just a commentary on the food industry but rather capitalism. I suggest looking into the author’s background to gain further context for the commentary.

zayapayaya's review against another edition

dark sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This book was horrific and disgusting. I kinda wish I didn’t read it, but I also couldn’t stop. I will never read it again. The societal commentary on language, media, governments, and animal abuse are there but woven into such a gruesome story that it’s hard to reflect on the messages without wanting to vomit. Idk why I read this or why I finished it. I’m scarred for life. It has basically every trigger warning ever. I do not recommend this to a friend. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Excrement, Dementia, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail