Tender Is the Flesh

Yolken shared a tip "In a world where classism exist and depending on your class you are either food for higher rank or you are the higher rank, a guy who is used to killing many people and basically a serial killer, sees one day a random person who is meat as an almost person and gets with her and has a baby with her and then murder her, all so his wife can have a child. "She was becoming too human" is basically the end line. It's supposed to come across as some kind of veganism message but really it's zoophilia rap3 instead."

TrustyJ shared a tip "Wow, what did I read? Decent story here. Definitely eerie, creepy, dark and nasty. Still I found it interesting and glad I got through it."

melsey_kiksch shared a tip "disturbingly fascinating and leaves you wishing humans weren't so disappointing. couldn't put it down and my jaw was on the floor the whole time."

joannasbookcorner shared a tip "This book is disturbing, and it isnt clear how deeply disturbing until the last page. Highly recommend this read if you want something shocking."

StonesToThrow shared a tip "It was a little difficult for me to read personally. Very gross and disturbing, And that's what I was hoping for! Overall this book was a good read!"

haley_reads shared a tip "Someone had mentioned they were totally shocked by "the surprise ending", but it wasn't as much of a surprise to me as what the book had been building up to. Still an incredibly good read and highly recommend!"

tim_straw_6783 shared a tip "Brutal book. Unrelenting and sad beyond words. A dystopian novel without a single moment of joy. A book that you will love as it destroys you. Bloody brilliant."

cedar_moss shared a tip "Gross gross gross!! The world building was fascinating! If it wasn’t written by a non-man I would probably hate this book. I recommend if you have a strong stomach"

scevans shared a tip "⭐⭐⭐1/2 This book was very bizarre. You had to change your perspective into viewing humans as you would livestock, and normalize their consumption while you read. People had raved about how disturbing it was, but I have to say that it wasn't lose-sleep-over-it disturbing. Just very odd to throw yourself into."

brookeisawriter shared a tip "Oh my word. Everything you thought you knew was totally wrong. What you think was kind of understandable, turns out to be cold, calculating, and no. Just no."

CatobsessedRAE shared a tip "Absolutely horrifying, as I thought it would be. If you are easily disturbed, not good with violence, or are easily disgusted, DO NOT READ THIS."

sarcasticgrl shared a tip "Wow! This leaves you uncomfortable and speechless. Not for the faint of heart, that's for sure. The most unsettling part is the fact that you could actually see this happening I'm our crazy society. This book was like nothing I've ever read before!"

jenn_aldieri shared a tip "I give it a 3.5-4/5. It's not that I didn't like it but I felt the ending was too abrupt. The animal abuse didn't need to happen and some events were for shock value."

megan_joseph_2300 shared a tip "The writing was incredible; it made for a quick read, but the gruesomeness of it made me take it slow. The book was raw (not pun intended) and really made me think about the meat industry."

basilguese shared a tip "there’s a sense of unease you get while reading it. the stilted tone, the word choice, the uncanny valley of it all—you feel, to put it bluntly, gross while reading, but in the best way possible. it really keeps up that general oddness throughout, becoming not just an enthralling read, but also a fascinating one. would highly recommend."

ella_kraenzle shared a tip "Very graphic and many parts were unsettling,there was a couple long periods of nothing dramatically plot changing occurring and it felt like the book was rushed when written but there were many unexpected twists and I would have never pictured the ending"

joshua_radcliffe shared a tip "Chilling and disturbing, I found myself physically sick while reading parts of this book. The ending was a surprising twist that made gasp and exclaim “What the &$%#!” This book is on the same level as “1984” and “Fahrenheit 451.” I strongly recommend this!"

secretofsilence shared a tip "The plot twist at the end was something I didn’t expect to happen and the graphic nature of the book, for the most part, felt appropriate for the material given. While graphic it definitely wasn’t as graphic as I thought it would be (from my perspective). I want to add, I read this first and read Meat by Joseph D’Lacey next as people said TITF is a watered down version of it. However, I liked TITF a lot more in comparison to Meat. Meat had certain graphic natures that felt very unnecessary in certain character developments (more like shock value than fleshing out a character). It also had plot points that went all over the place and is by far a more graphic read. If reading about a dystopian world where humans are bred to be slaughtered interests you, TITF is the better pick."

kerem. shared a tip "it was both disturbing and enjoyable throughout the whole thing. you don’t have to dig too deep to understand the messaging. pretty fast read and got me out of a slump."

victoria_de_las_cas shared a tip "Disgusting. Gross. Thought-provoking. Amazingly written. This book was chaotic and overwhelming and wonderful all at the same time. It’s definitely gory and descriptive, but that helps you imagine the exact world that the main character is living in. This is a book that changes the way you think."

reyna_salazar shared a tip "This book grabbed my attention from page one and didn’t let go until I reached the last page! It makes you question the lengths humanity will go."

ambyrr81 shared a tip "So good, but BRUTAL! There were many moments where I wondered if I would be able to finish this book. Glad I toughed it out. It's incredible."

kelsey_king_1186 shared a tip "Great book! I really enjoyed it. Very graphic. Abuse, animal cruelty and abuse to pregnant women trigger warnings. It’s well written and makes you feel like you’re really there. The author also makes it easy to care for certain character and feel their heartbreak."

alicia_wurm shared a tip "It’s like a train wreck you can’t look away from but in a good way? the entire time I just kept thinking this is so …… up. I couldn’t sleep when I finished the book and had odd dreams but I definitely recommend reading this!"

hailey_boyer-johnson shared a tip "The book was good but I do think it's over hyped. I would say its fairly tamed but I did want to finish it! Ending was too rushed sadly and I feel the main character lost all character development for the shock vaule."

YourRoyalThighness shared a tip "If you’re looking for a book that will psychologically mess you up, look no further. The plot? Addicting. The prose? Immersive. The characters? Realistic, TOO realistic. I thought about this book for days after I finished it. Move it up your tbr, trust me."

jamie_mayfield shared a tip "Climate change, over consumption, illness, death, exploitation, oppression, migration, animal welfare, human rights. This book covers a million topics and ideas in 200 pages."

jennifer_cossey shared a tip "I’ve never read something so violently disturbing and repulsive as this book. It kept me gagging and cringing in almost every chapter. If you think you know where this book is going, I promise you, you don’t. It’s fascinating, horrifying, and an absolute masterpiece. I love this book and hate it so much. 10/10 a must read for sure"

abigail_harrold shared a tip "I honestly just couldn’t get into it. It can be graphic with how the author describes certain aspects of the meat plants, and I got to about chapter 10/11 (Pg 50 or so) before I stopped. It’s not a long read, but I ended up finishing a second, longer book in the time it took me to get to where I stopped in this one. It’s not a matter of characters or plot, it’s just maybe not for me?"

erin_dalton_3199 shared a tip "Very good horror book. It hooked me from the beginning and had a lot of interesting twists. The subtle parallels and gore make it a good read. Trigger warnings: animals do die and it does describe it. Mentions SA, and has a lot of anatomy gore."

brittany_marsden shared a tip "I… don’t think anyone should read this. It delivered a message that needed to be said but I’m not sure if I agree with the way it was communicated with extreme violence to children, animals, everyone... It was depressing and it was heavy but I enjoyed the message."

fluffy_fluffy_floof shared a tip "It was super descriptive and thought provoking. Immediately after reading it, it definitely left a stain on my mind. Makes you question morality as well as the distinguishable traits between what's considered killing and moral slaughter. Absolute 10/10"

cheyenne_corty shared a tip "This book forced its way into my brain and hasn’t left since I finished it. The writing is phenomenal, the narrative is captivating, and the plot is disgusting and surreal. I loved this book, I read it in two days, I couldn’t put it down. I highly recommend this for horror fans, however I feel I should warn you about the graphic content. (Sexual Assault, gore, cannibalism, animal violence, child death, and physical violence WITH gore) this book isn’t for everyone, but I thoroughly enjoyed this."

catsglare shared a tip "Grotesque story that calls into question societal norms and our own humanity surrounding the meat industry. Taking place in a not too distant future, it dances the line between fiction and prophecy perfectly."

leo_kingsbury shared a tip "Just when you think you know where the story is headed, you are wildly surprised. Great writing. Disgustingly captivating. Read it in one night because I couldn’t put it down."

First_edition_ shared a tip "I got this book to start off my disturbing horror book collection and I never thought it would actually make me have chills to the point where I would need to put it down and take a minute on what I'm reading."

alyssah_richards shared a tip "Perhaps I had a 3 day mental breakdown because I thought I needed to be a vegetarian immediately…but we won’t talk about that. Such an amazing book though with an extremely powerful ending."

grace_r_6058 shared a tip "Without a doubt one of the most unsettling books I’ve ever read and very much at the top of my list of books I wish I could read for the first time again. Absolutely amazing"

mitchell_nangle shared a tip "I started and finished this book on a flight . I felt sick and anxious the entire time reading it ,the author takes no time throwing you into this terrifying cannibal dystopia .When ever the plane had turbulence I would feel relieved with the possibility that my plane could take a nose dive crashing into the side of a mountain so I’d no longer have to continue in this horrifying world & story. I think the most disturbing thing about this book , is that it seems so plausible. Overall Delicious Read Highly Recommended."

ra_sman shared a tip "Decent writing, doesn't drag on too much and doesn't overuse nor underuse gorey descriptions to keep us interested. Not a predictable book, which I also liked. Nothing cliche here"

_101chagu shared a tip "A book I will absolutely NEVER forget. Therefore I give it a 10/10. 🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯Trigger Warning: Contains Graphic Animal Abuse, Sexual Abuse, And Body Horror"

stella_smoot shared a tip "This book was amazing, I had gotten a lot of recommendations and had seen it in just about every bookstore before buying it. I was immediately hooked into the book and I regret nothing from buying it. So much true emotion and excitement and just about everything you could ask for in a book! 10/5⭐️"

bryce_vanzandt shared a tip "An absolutely amazing book. It seemed to immediately grip me and wouldn't let go till I finished it. Probably one of the best books I've read in a while"

glory_reyes_rodrigu_7173 shared a tip "Did not see that ending coming! It happened so quick and so fast I was just so shocked! And disgusted! And captivated! I had to have more!"

alex_buckley_1508 shared a tip "The way this book moved me to a place I have never been to. I am both terrified by and obsessed with Bazterrica. TW: SA and animal abuse. SA parts are brief and not too terribly graphic. However there are a handful of animal abuse parts that are extremely descriptive. If you feel you can get through it, I recommend skipping chapter 6 of part 2. Nothing is taken from the story if you skip it."

jeffrey_9742 shared a tip "Brutal. Very good speculative work if you can stand the gory bits. I would have preferred the original title of the book to be retained: Exquisite Corpse."

corvus_corax shared a tip "This book was one of the most disgusting books I have ever read, but also one of the most beautifully written. I couldn't put it down. 10/10 from me."

bribooth shared a tip "It’s the most disturbing book I’ve ever read. I love disturbing books they’re my favourite to read. This one is the most upsetting hands down. Definitely not something the average reader can get through. Poses a lot of questions about it humanity though and creates some self reflection."

elizabeth_phelps shared a tip "Loved the entire book, this book gave me so much emotion throughout. A book you want to put down for a pause but willing to continue to see how it plays out yet still something you’d never expect. Would like to incorporate this novel into a course project someday."

alexa_needham shared a tip "The details Agustina Bazterrica adds in this novel provides grotesque horror and thought provocative moments. Tender is the Flesh has an uncomfortable and unforgettable message. If you want a relaxing read, this is not the book for you."

robbie_v. shared a tip "has semi graphic depictions of body horror. this book is about a man named marcos living in a dystopian world where animal meat has been tainted by a virus that kills people and they have to switch to human meat. this book depicts imagery of humans being treated like livestock and while it a little slow as a whole, the author sets up the ending almost out of nowhere. i would recommend but not good if you are grossed out easily"

werewolv shared a tip "Absolutely everything you'd want out of a horrifying realistic dystopian horror. The ending still shocks me just thinking back on it."

terrah_lindsay shared a tip "I was working at a meat processing facility at the time of reading this, so it wasn't actually as shocking as maybe it wants to be if you're in that particular demographic. But it does rely heavily on the gruesomeness of where our meat comes from for shock value."

april_elizabeth_mar shared a tip "This book will have you hooked until the very last page. Humanity mixed with horror, and it’ll have your emotions all over the place."

kayla_schescke shared a tip "I was thoroughly disturbed at every turn while reading this book and the ending had me struggling to find the proper words to express how it made me feel! I haven’t had such a strong, visceral reaction to a book in years."

reyna_lopez_1135 shared a tip "Wow! I seriously am shocked at how I finished this book in 1 day. I did not see the ending I kept turning the pages like more had to be in hidden. I’m so upset; but it was great. The most disgusting thing is the extremes of what people will do to eat meat."

Dezi4Ever1 shared a tip "This book made me physically sick to my stomach, but that's the risk you take with some horrors. Definitely makes you think if our society would come to this how disgusting and scary it would be. I definitely would say read at your own risk, especially if your sensitive or have a weak stomach. Overall they only thing I'd change is some of the writing style it's just not my cup of tea. We'd be in present day and than all the sudden we'd jump back to his old days. Which would trip me up at points."

rebel_christensen shared a tip "This book was an interesting read, however I don't think that I will ever read it again, nor would I recommend it. You get an idea of who the main character is, and then he does something completely off base from the character that had been built. The change happens at the very end with little explanation as to why. I'm all for plot twists, but this, I felt, didn't fit the story. I liked it until the end, but the ending ruined the rest of the book."

sherri_vanaernam shared a tip "I thought this was a very interesting read, not as creepy as I thought it’d be, there’s a scene with some animal abuse that I skipped over, but overall it was pretty good for a short horror. Good for spooky season!"