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A review by junowo
Tender Is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica
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.
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.
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