"Tender is the Flesh" by Agustina Bazterrica (2020)

What the flying flamingo did I just read?!

Most importantly...

Why on earth did I continue reading?!

It's not disturbing. It's beyond disturbing. It has the whole package: talk about cannibalism, racism, rape, animal cruelty, you name it. But other than all of that, 'slavery' is bad. Like are you for real?!

Anyway, Tender is the Flesh is about this man, Marcos, who works at a meat processing plant, a plant that processes 'human' meat. Yep! That's right. In this apocalyptic world, cannibalism has been normalized since all animals have been infected with an uncurbable virus that causes death to humans. So, say goodbye to your chicken breasts and beef stakes and chocolate-flavored whey protein shakes. In this world, you'll get all your precious protein from your fellow humans, ones who are considered literal pieces of meat, bred in farms and enhanced genetically and pumped by hormones. Imagine that dreaded skin-flaying scene in Haruki Murakami's The Wind Up Bird Chronicle stretched to two hundred pages. 

During my read, I felt mostly light-headed, like literally, I felt nausea. The graphic descriptions were too much. I understand that the whole book is about making a statement, a bloated and a very biased one, from the perspective of veganism, but come on, Agustina, you gotta admit, this shit went beyond the stratosphere. I mean, if this is how vegans see the world, I gotta say it's a hell of a nightmare.

Anyway, the book is a comment about how humans put their species above all other species and how hypocritical we are. The main character sees his society in a different light and sees how false and self-blinded it is with its emotionless technicalities and euphemisms, but in the end, he isn't any better. That's how conformity works. You see what your peers do, and you decide—consciously or subconsciously—to follow the herd. You might have thoughts in opposition, or even might give voice to your thoughts... but you will not. Why? But deep, deep down, you wanna survive, even at the cost of your values, morals and what you consider ideal.

“After all, since the world began, we’ve been eating each other. If not symbolically, then we’ve been literally gorging on each other. The Transition has enabled us to be less hypocritical.”

Summary:

On the surface, Tender is the Flesh is a thriller/horror that inclines towards shock rather than gore and violence with a hell of a plot twist. But if you remove the bones, the marrow of the book is simply a satire about crowd/mob psychology and everything it entails: consumerism, how societies collectively manipulate words and attitudes based on their needs and priorities.

It's a book that will affect you for days and make you think. I wouldn't recommend it for the weak-hearted. If you can stomach bloody plots, then this is for you. If you don't and still are intrigued by its premise "however absurd and refutable it is", read it but don't take everything literally.