Tender Is the Flesh

What a disturbing yet fascinating book about a dystopian world that has turned to cannabilism! I was on the fence about this one but once I started I couldn't stop reading. I loved how the main character Marcos seemed to have a deep character growth, remaining in touch with what was left of his humanity. If you want an intriguing read about the "what ifs" of a possible dystopian future then this is the book for you! I promise you won't be disappointed!

Very good read with a shocking ending that I definitely did not see coming. Very easy read but doesnt cover many other characters besides the main one in any depth. Overall a hard to put down read and very greusome read. Definitely a great dark book if you're into that type of stuff, you will not be disappointed.

This was a very dark and challenging read. There’s not really any content warning that will prevent me from reading a book if I find the premise interesting. In fact, I read this on recommendation from a friend who told me it was incredibly dark and f’ed up, so I knew what I was getting into. I was not prepared. This is one of only two books in my life that I’ve felt uneasy about and had to just sit and process for a while after I finished it. (The other is Lolita.) The book was incredibly well written and realistic, so much so that it seemed believable, like humanity might actually be forced into cannibalism one day. That realism, I think, was the root of my unease. The first half of the book is more viscerally graphic. We get a look into how cannibalism became necessary, how the “cattle” are bred and treated, and we even get a fairly detailed tour of a meat processing facility. The second half is where it gets more disturbing. It’s clear the humans raised for food aren’t viewed as people – they’re viewed as animals, the same way we view cows or pigs. The author did a great job of subtly creating that viewpoint shift, and focusing on the differences between ‘them’ and ‘us.’ We get deeper into the morality of this system, and trying to figure out where to draw the line, specifically when it comes to sex. The law says no, because they’re not people, right? They’re branded and treated like cattle. And yet, they are still human, and they have human needs and desires, and they look like people, so one surely couldn’t be faulted for treating them like people sometimes. I highly recommend this book if you think you can handle it.

A quick read and captivating overall, but I’m so torn when it comes to whether my review of the book is positive or negative. I bought this as a massive haul of books I am using for research purposes as I write my own novel. I am a lover of anything dystopian themed, and this fit the bill well. For the positives, this is a quick read that also progresses quickly, so no true slow moments. The author’s way of describing characters is spectacular, and most if not all of my sticky notes are indicating a place where I thought the description of the characters’ appearance or thought process was described so well I wanted to use it for inspiration for my own writing. The concept of this universe is also just so interesting that I wish the author would continue to build upon it. Now, for the negative. First off, there is virtually no cohesive plot for the entirety of the novel. Even the storyline with Jasmine being pregnant turned out to be near meaningless, with the pregnancy (and novel) ending so abruptly that I literally thought maybe my copy was a misprint. There HAS to be more to this book, I said to myself. There is NO WAY they ended it with no resolution for literally any of the plot points. Further, I don’t know if it’s because of the translation or what, but the syntax of the writing threw me for a loop. Every other sentence starts with ‘He’. I did not know the main characters name until halfway through the book. Even when the character referred to himself, it was always ‘he’. And finally, the sex scene about 1/3 way into the book was pointless and unnecessary. Maybe I missed the point (maybe it had something to do with the main character ‘taking charge, idk) but seeing as the female character in the scene is literally never mentioned again…I’m guessing it was just thrown in there to get people riled up.

I've never been able to sit down and read an actual book for years because of my adhd. I turned to reading manga but I still wasn't satisfied. I heard about extreme horror from a friend and thought that maybe it'd help keep my eyes on the paper and stop my mind from wondering. It worked. I started my extreme horror journey with a book called COWS by Matthew Stokoe. I wrote a review on it as well—a review that was mostly negative. The book was definitely disturbing and disgusting but that's.. all it was. It was a nonstop carnival ride of gross scenes with no meaningful substance that made me start to hate the genre as a whole. It definitely kept my eyes on the paper, but not for any good reasons. Then I saw this book on instagram. I heard a description and thought, "a dystopia about cannibalism being the norm where the main character falls in love with his dinner? I'm sold." I started reading and needless to say I was hooked. ⚠️SPOILERS AHEAD⚠️ (I assume you already knew this though because you decided to read this review and well I have to talk about the plot to do so) (Premise) The author tells us we've been driven to cannibalism because of a disease that makes animals inedible to humans—BUT it's heavily implied that the whole thing could be a hoax made up by the government to combat overpopulation. I love how the author left it up for the reader to decide which one is true. (Plot) The plot is interesting. You'd think It'd just be a story about crazy cannibals but actually has a lot of substance compared to other works. The main character is actually a decent guy who recently lost his kid and wife. He ends up receiving a gift of a female that was supposed to be slaughtered and eaten. He instead falls in love with her and she ends up pregnant. He wants to make sure he doesn't lose his kid again—despite it being very illegal to sleep with a human who's meant to be slaughtered. (Characters) The main character is deep and complex and not a trope. If there's one thing I hate about reading is seeing trope characters. The main character feels like an actual person. He's angry, he's protective of what he loves, fragmented, burdened with grief, and detached. In one of the first few scenes of the book the author even hints at him disassociating while hearing his boss talk about the process of skinning humans and turning them into leather. I like that he isn't just a gross, weird, vulgar wannabe badass like many authors try to make their main characters in urban decay settings. (Themes) The book has themes of grief, disconnection, and powerlessness. The main character struggles with the death of his son, and his father later in the book. He even feels sour towards his sister for not caring about his father like he did. The kind of powerlessness he feels being surrounded by slaughter everyday with nothing he can do, all the while thinking that it all might not even be justified because the disease may not exist is frightening. (My favorite scene) The main character often visits an old abandoned zoo throughout the story. Since the "outbreak" happened people have been scared and kill any animal they see, so naturally zoos were shut down. The first time we see him go to this zoo, he makes his way to where the birds were kept. When he's there, he reflects on how his dad used to take him there as a kid to see the birds, and wishes he could've been able to take his son there to do the same. This scene was amazing, definitely punched me in the gut. I would add more detail but I realize it's something you should read yourself. (Conclusion) If you hate feel-good stories, can handle the grotesque, and want to read something that will have you glued until you reach the ending, then I highly recommend Tender is the Flesh.

“If a person with a first and last name can be eaten legally, and they’re not considered a product, what’s stopping anyone from eating anyone else?” Sheesh. This book was depressingly disturbing. A dystopian type novel set in the future where animal meat is no longer safe to eat (or so the public is made to believe by the government) so the “legitimization of cannibalism” is put in place- making “special meat” as they call it, the new normal. Not only this, but animals all brutally killed to mostly extinction, and all remaining animals are feared. Something I really liked about this book is it’s brutal and very important message about the very real disgusting horrors that go on in our food industry (especially meat and dairy) today. It calls out so many of mankind’s hypocrisies like how we feel mostly no remorse condoning the killing, torturing, and breeding an unnamed beef cows but feel disgust at even the suggestion of hurting a beloved pet. Bringing relevancy to the quote I pulled from the book at the beginning of this review, regular people or people with “fist and last names” as the book frequently references them, are not on the menu. Only the “heads” or “specimens” bred and raised in captivity - raised strictly for food. This book shines an important light on our lack of empathy and respect for other living beings as a society and the insatiable selfishness of mankind. The unspeakable things we do to other living beings in order to satisfy our hunger, our vanity, our entertainment, and our research. It’s uncomfortable because a the majority of this story is a twisted version of something very real. Moving away from the important message of this book, I found it overall a very good read. It successfully made me feel very bleak and hopeless, as it is a very depressing and disturbing book. The main character is someone I empathized with in the beginning but quickly grew to dislike and then pretty much despise by the end of the book. “She had the human look of a domesticated animal.” Even though this all sounds very negative, it was the books purpose so I consider this a successful read. The reason I took a star off the rating was because the writing itself was not that great in my opinion. I had to re read sections a few times in some places because it was written very choppy and lacked a cohesive flow. Overall as I said, although this book is disturbing and depressing as hell, I would recommend checking it out if you can stomach it. Definitely check TWs but pretty much assume there’s everything but the kitchen sink in this book as far as triggers go.

On the gory and graphic side. Gratuitous gore. It's a worthwhile read but not on my must-read list. Recommended to me by several friends that loved this book. I liked it enough to say it's a worthwhile read, but nothing more. I gave it 4 stars, not 5.

This book was deeply disturbing. I think what is so scary is that, something like this or similar could happen. While extremely far fetched, and highly unlikely, it’s not impossible. I definitely don’t recommend this book to just anyone. Please make sure you do your research before reading this book.