Tender is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica
Book – Tender is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica
Translator – Sarah Moses
Pages – 219 pages, Paperback
Genre – Dystopian fiction
Publisher – Pushkin Press
Rating – 4.5/5 stars
About the Book
Animal meat is infected by a virus and it can no longer be consumed. So, what can be the substitute? Ofcourse, human flesh. After all, meat is meat. That is exactly what they say in the book.
This is Marcos’ story. He works at the local processing plant and is his boss’ right hand. He is in the business of slaughtering humans. Cannibalism is legal in this dystopian world, though no one says that word. We call it heads. Or products.
His wife has left him. His father is sinking into dementia. And Marcos is trying to make ends meet by fixing his life. But one fine day, he is left with a female in his basement. What is to be done now? Why is she there?
Book Review
Imagine a book dipped in capitalism and cannibalism in a dystopian patriarchal world. Tender is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica is that book.
From the first page itself, I felt a heavy sense of air surrounding me. Tender is the Flesh paints a very dark world. It starts to crawl under your skin right from the beginning. You feel a heavy stone inside your chest.. and as you keep reading.. the stone keeps getting bigger. You have no other choice but to take multiple breaks while reading. It is not an easy read.
The book is dark, disturbing, disgusting and deep. If you had to take out all the dark aspects of this book and all the gory details, this would still be a fantastic book for two reasons –
- How brilliantly the book sells the concept of capitalism in a patriarchal world.
- How effortlessly the book makes it evident that even after all the feminism, fights and slogans, women are still treated as second class citizens in the world.
But there was one important subject that went untouched in this book which I really wished the author would have focused more on. Race, class and sexuality concepts were hardly touched upon. We see how females were treated brutally, we know that even men’s flesh is being hunted for and sold as special meat.. but to what degree is gender and class coming into picture?
Another point which fell short was that the book mentions how the virus infecting animals is nothing but the government’s conspiracy to control overpopulation. But we don’t see any developments on this theory either.
However, the story grips you. It does not let your mind wander to these questions once you’ve started reading. Statements like “meat is meat”, “there are words that cover up the world” gives you chills.
I am so impressed and blown away by the ending. I think this is the darkest plot twist I’ve ever read.
Do I Recommend this Book?
Yes, 100%. I picked this book up when my friend told me that one of her friends stopped eating non-veg after reading this book. After hearing this statement, I had to pick this up. And now that I’ve read this book, I know and understand why.
This is one of the best books I’ve read this year. It makes me feel angry, it makes me uncomfortable. It made me think. Biggest takeaway? Everybody is selfish. There is no better way to put this lesson in words.
Tender is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica shows that no matter what show we up on, humans are selfish, hypocrites, self-centered, dangerous beings.
Also Read – Book Review: Mornings in Jenin by Susan Abulhawa
My Favorite Quotes From Tender is the Flesh
“There are words that cover up the world. There are words that are convenient, hygienic. Legal.”
“He wishes he could anaesthetize himself and live without feeling anything. Act automatically, observe, breathe and nothing more. See everything, understand and not talk. But the memories are there, they remain with him.”
“Because hatred gives one strength to go on; it maintains the fragile structure, it weaves the threads together so that emptiness doesn’t take over everything.”
“The human being is the cause of all evil in this world. We are our own virus.”
“She had the human look of a domesticated animal.”
“His father is a person of integrity, that’s why he went crazy.”
“He tried to hate God but he doesn’t believe in God. He tried to hate all of humanity for being so fragile and ephemeral but he couldn’t keep it up because hating everyone is the same as hating no one.”
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And that’s how you write a recommendation that piques the interest of the reader. Makes them want to leave the book they’re reading midway and pick up the book that’s being recommended.
Loved your post Kinjal and thank you so much (sense a dollop of sarcasm here) for adding one more book to my TBR pile!
Manish Ahuja | MrEmogical
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