Tender Is the Flesh Paperback – 14 April 2025

This is quite honestly the most disturbing book I've ever read. Stomach churning, upsetting, horrifying and horrible - it goes on and on. And yet so compelling is the story and the will for things to come good - the wish for a revolution, a change.Probably the most chilling aspect of the story are the parallels. The first reaction to this story is, "Never. This will never happen". Then comes the drip feed: the government coercing and the manipulation using fear, before the realisation that such horrendous acts have been done over and over during history - when individuals are dehumanised and others manipulated and scared.This is the most rambling review I've ever written. I'm that rattled. Anyhow, I've given this book five stars because of the powerfulness of it. Both it and the messages it contains are not to be forgotten.

The good:I enjoyed this book a lot. I personally loved the main character seeing who he presents himself to be on the outside and how he really was very different internally. He is in a constant swing from bad to good which makes him very human, this makes it easy to feel for him. It was interesting seeing his facade break as the story progressed, him dealing with his anxiety and everything traumatic that was happening. I also love the spin of this book. I would almost say it is political in that it says a lot about animal rights without animals even being present. Because these conditions we place animals in - testing, breeding, meat production are only seen as shocking because it’s our own kind we’re putting in these situations in this book. Most people are so detached from this reality that we can’t sympathize with animals, but putting humans in those positions seeing the fear and the pain, the gore from this perspective may enable some people to open up their minds about this subject.And the bad:The only reason why I didn’t give this book 5 stars was because the ending was really short and rushed. And even though I liked that I didn’t expect the way it turned out. I was disappointed because I was hoping that this growth, this breaking of his outer personality, him showing his values was leading somewhere. I was waiting for him to do something drastic that no one would expect. Break and show his true views that these people are human because that would break all the social norms everything he built too. Or I would have personally preferred, if we went the insane route - killing the “oppressor's” maybe even doing to them what they did to others eating them and feeling satisfied because he’s mentally broken and I think that these would have been a more satisfying endings but in the end he just reverted back to society and shunned that part of himself by killing jasmine. I thought his father’s death would break him and he would follow his ideology but no. Which is a little sad but the book was good nonetheless.

I wouldnt rate it a full 4 but it was interesting.It made me feel sick 1 time threw out the book (this is the first type of gory book iv read).I liked that it was a quick easy read but it wasnt something special.Still would recommend:)

I saw Tender is the Flesh mentioned a couple of times on Twitter and it instantly got it’s (meat) hooks into me. I couldn’t help myself and pre-ordered the book immediately. This is the type of fiction I love; brutal, powerful and thought-provoking.I should probably mention at this point that I read this book as soon as it was published (a few months ago) and the fact that a virus infects the World’s animals seemed, at the time, to be nothing more than fiction. Anything involving a virus these days has a slightly different…perspective (?) to it, but I know I would still have read this book and still loved it as much as I do. Because it’s a bloody awesome book and if you’ve got a strong stomach and like the darker side of fiction then this is a must read!So the big question here is…would you? Would you eat human flesh if that was the only available meat for you to consume? It’s unthinkable, right? Tender is the Flesh makes the reader ask themselves some pretty hefty questions and looks at the situation from some very interesting angles. To put things into context, the humans on the menu aren’t like you or I. They’re bred, farmed and processed the same way livestock is. They’re nameless, they’re nothing but protein. But….but…but…they’re still people, right? And that’s the brilliant hook which this stonking piece of fiction rests on. It’s absolutely impossible to comprehend. But that’s exactly what pulled me into the pages of this incredible book.Marcos works at the local processing plant. The reader discovers that after so many years of watching and partaking in horrifically violent acts that Marcos has become somewhat desensitised to the brutality of it all. He’s a heavily flawed character, having recently separated from his wife, but I found myself warming to him as the story progressed. When an illegal gift on a Female FGP (First General Pure) is delivered to his house, he doesn’t know what to do with it (her!).This really is an eye opener of a book and I devoured it (pun intended). I was nearing the end of the novel and I couldn’t for the life of me work out where the author was going to take things, how it was all going to be wrapped up. But it’s absolutely perfect and as a result, this book will stay with me for a long time to come. I expect it will feature in my top books of the year list.Would I recommend this book? I would, most definitely, but it’s not going to be for everyone. It’s savage, brave, unsettling and utterly unflinching fiction at it’s very best. The way the ‘special meat’ is treated is inhumane and stomach churning and makes me question the way livestock is treated. Vegetarianism could be the way forward for me following this novel! If you’re looking for a book which is dark, disturbing and wholly involving then this is it. Bazterrica does not spare her reader and I absolutely loved it! Highly recommended. Just don’t say I didn’t warn you…

Tender is the flesh and yummy is the sock!What in the actual cannibalism?! 😳In a world where animals are off the menu (deadly virus, no big deal), humans become the new meat. Yup. Full-on factory farms, slaughterhouses, and breeding centers, but for PEOPLE. 🍖🚫We follow a guy who works in a human meat plant (normal job??) as he spirals into existential horror. It’s dark, disturbing, and had me making faces the whole time 🤢The concept? 🔥 The writing? Eh… maybe a translation thing 🤷‍♀️Final thoughts: Tender is the Flesh will haunt your brain and ruin your next BBQ. 8/10 do not eat while reading. 🥩📚💀

Brilliant dystopian read that uncovers the worst of humanity in a way that makes it believable. Very well written indeed.