Reviews tagging 'Infertility'

Tender Is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica

562 reviews

lonlon's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Infertility, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Slavery, Violence, Vomit, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, Murder, and Gaslighting

ferrot_lectorapromedio's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Death, Gore, Blood, Trafficking, Cannibalism, and Murder

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Confinement, Infertility, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic

asydburn's review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Slavery, Torture, Blood, Cannibalism, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child death, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Minor: Infertility, Infidelity, Dementia, and Trafficking

lilbil's review against another edition

dark tense

• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No

3.5

Bold of me to be almost surprised that the normalized cannibalism book is gross and fucked up. I had to sit there for several minutes just thinking about how fucked the whole thing was when I finished.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Gore, Sexual assault, and Cannibalism

Moderate: Infidelity and Trafficking

Minor: Infertility

dysentry_4_me's review against another edition

dark tense slow-paced

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

4.0

It had it's moments but ultimately it boiled down to simply an interesting concept. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infertility, Infidelity, Blood, Dementia, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Gaslighting

sarafullofjoy's review against another edition

challenging dark sad fast-paced

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

5.0

While I was fascinated I was also entirely horrified. This book was terrible but not because of its writing or readability. It will haunt you thinking about what people are capable of.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Murder, and Pregnancy

majca's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad fast-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? It's complicated

4.75

She had the human look of a domesticated animal. 

This is a difficult book to review. I can't deny it was a captivating, unsettling and upsetting read. It's polemic, and at times the author goes to contrived extremes, drawing almost comical allegories. Still, I can appreciate that all-or-nothing commitment, though the shock factor gradually dulls with repetition. And while the simplistic, detached narrative amplifies the horrors in its own way, I didn't personally enjoy this style. 

The plot itself doesn't venture much beyond its narrow focus, leaving the larger societal implications-economic, environmental, or political-frustratingly underexplored. I couldn't entirely ignore plot holes or suspend disbelief completely. It works better when considered a thought experiment that offers a dark, close-up glimpse into an altered society-one you accept without questioning the hows and whys. As an essay, it's haunting and thought-provoking; as a novel, it often strains credulity and suffers under its wasted potential. 

The protagonist, while thoroughly unlikable, is fascinating in his hypocrisy. He considers himself morally superior to everyone around him, yet remains complicit-a product of societal norms he neither questions nor escapes. With no overt commentary from the author (both a strength and a weakness of the book), it raises interesting questions about how well and easily the human mind adapts to even the most gruesome circumstances. 

The ending, though predictable and bleak, provides a fitting conclusion. It's the only outcome I found realistic and acceptable, given the world and characters built and the length of the novel. 

Lastly, while it's of lesser importance to the overall experience, the portrayal of female characters was disappointing. I found myself double-checking to confirm the author was indeed female, given the internalized misogyny.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Death, Gore, and Rape

Moderate: Confinement, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Sexual assault, and Slavery

grovesr's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense fast-paced

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

4.75

I read so many reviews about this book being cruel and disturbing, so I had to give it a read. And I can say, yes, it's just as grotesque as the reviews say. Admirably, so. From beginning to end I was thoroughly horrified. Vivid descriptions, gorey details. And at the end, you're left feeling the immense power humans have. And how fragile our ethics are. How quickly we could turn on each other, ravenous and desperate to get what we want... or need, even. This book was desperate and raw. Full of guilt and anguish. I love a book that can give me a flawed character, who commits horrible acts, and show me what led them to those decisions. Was Marcos right or wrong? Who can say, really. Until you're in his shoes and in that world. I think we're all much more capable of evil than we imagine.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Genocide, Gore, Infertility, Infidelity, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Excrement, Dementia, Cannibalism, Death of parent, and Classism

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

lilybarna's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

woah yeah this book is a brutal read there are some scenes that really you cannot NOT visualize and it’s just rough. Took me a while to read for a short book but the final page really surprised and gutted me (poor choice of words I know) and reminded me that man truly is the worst thing to have happened to this planet!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Trafficking, Grief, Cannibalism, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Child death and Slavery

Minor: Infertility, Infidelity, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Pregnancy