Tender is the Flesh by Agustina Bazzterica
Working at the local processing plant, Marcos is in the business of slaughtering humans – though no one calls them that anymore.
His wife has left him, his father is sinking into dementia, and Marcos tries not to think too hard about how he makes a living. After all, it happened so quickly. First, it was reported that an infectious virus has made all animal meat poisonous to humans. Then governments initiated the “Transition”. Now, eating human meat – “special meat” – is legal. Marcos tries to stick to numbers, consignments, processing.
Then one day he’s given a gift: a live specimen of the finest quality. Though he’s aware that any form of personal contact is forbidden on pain of death, little by little he starts to treat her like a human being. And soon, he becomes tortured by what has been lost – and what might still be saved.
When picking this read, I was in the mood for something weird and dark.
I have no reasoning for this and that isn’t a frequent “go to” category of mine, but I just FELT like it, ya know?
This one has been on my list for a few months but I just haven’t been in the right feels for it yet…
But the time arrived.
And when I saw it in my “saved” list on Scribd, I jumped right on it.
LAAWWWWWD, yall.
Sometimes I wonder what really has happened to me in my 40s that THIS is what I now pick as “entertainment.” 🤣
Here we are in a story of humans being bred like animals for consumption by OTHER HUMANS and a guy that works at a factory is the narrator.
This a world where there are no animals AT ALL anymore due to a virus—that may or may not really exist OR may be a huge plot by the government to deal with overpopulation of OUR species.
So…people start wigging out pretty severely due to wanting “protein”….enter cannibalism.
The government and media convince people that it is actually HEALTHIER to eat people as protein than plants or other options…and that in fact, plant protein is PROBLEMATIC and DANGEROUS to our health.
They call it “Special Meat” 🤢
Humans in the meat factory are called “heads” instead of people, they are tied up and bred to be used solely as product, their vocal chords are removed from birth so they can’t learn to talk, their limbs are cut off so pregnant ones can’t try to kill their unborn babies…the horrors go on and on.
O. M. G.
This book is fucking BIZARRE and GROTESQUE, yall.
But really….not unimaginable.
Isn’t this just one miniscule step away from chattel slavery, when human beings were treated VERY similarly? For YEARS ON END? In MULTIPLE countries?
When I tell yall thinking on this made me SHUDDER and my stomach TURN…..damn.
We can be HORRIBLE beings…especially to each other.
This book really makes the reader examine what the meaning of being a human is….
What is our true inner nature? How are we connected to one another? What IS it that separates humans from animals…if ANYTHING?
Yoooo.
This read was WILD AF…I don’t even know if I can explain it.
Do NOT read this is you are squeamish AT ALL. There is TONS of talk of butchering people parts and some of it is SUPER hard to hear.
As crazy and dark and gross as it is, I gotta say it WAS a friggin’ good read.
It is dystopian, disheartening, depressing AND depraved…but every now and then a character will say or do something and you think “Wait…okay…maybe there IS hope for us as a species yet….”
And then…the crazy ass ending happened and I was like:
“Nope. Forget it. Sure as hell ISN’T. All of us are awful, selfish, careless creatures. WTF IS WRONG WITH US ALLL?!?”
I definitely got the weird and dark vibe I was jonesing for with this book…this was NOT a bright and sunny uplifting read for CERTAIN.
You gotta be in the right head space for this one…and do NOT listen to or read while eating.🤢
This author was OFF THE CHAIN, yall. HELLA talented.
She is from Argentina and this original work was written in Spanish…I am definitely digging into the Interwebs to see what else of hers has been translated to English.
She is GOOOOOOOOD.