Likely Stories - Tender is the Flesh

If you are in the mood for a read that will haunt you this spooky season, I recommend the dark, and grotesque book, Tender is the flesh by Agustina Bazterrica. Bazterrica is an Argentinean author, this book was originally published in Spanish in 2017, and won the prestigious Clarín Novel Prize, it was translated into English in 2020.

Tender is the Flesh is set in the near future. A virus has infected animals - and it can easily spread to humans. Therefore, all animals are killed, there are no more pets, no more zoos, no more wildlife, and no animals raised for meat.

A hunger and a taste for meat persists, and cannibalism becomes common, then mainstream. In this dystopian future, people are soon raised for meat and dehumanized, they are referred to as "heads," and slaughtered to produce, "the special meat."

The book follows Marcos, a supplier trapped in the "special meat" industry. He is tormented by the cruelty he witnesses, but cannot leave his position for numerous reasons. We see the slaughterhouse floor through Marcos' eyes, as "heads" are butchered and pieced apart. We visit a breeding center with Marcos, a neighborhood butcher shop, a retreat where wealthy individuals can hunt their own "special meat," and even Marcos' sister's house where his niece and nephew are eating "special kidneys," and wondering aloud what people they know might taste like.

Marcos is faced with an ethical dilemma when he is gifted a high quality female "head" - he can sell her for a nice profit, slaughter her and enjoy the "special meat," or keep her in the barn and decide what to do later. The story takes truly surprising twists and turns and comes to an appropriately gruesome and horrific end.

I did not eat meat for weeks after reading this book. Seeing meat brought to mind passages from "Tender as the Flesh," that made me squirm. This book gets under your skin, is it appalling and incriminating.

Bazterrica clearly wants her readers to examine their beliefs about meat, and the treatment of animals in our industrialized system. She raises questions about ethical consumption, how easily we compromise our core human values, and our powerlessness in the face of socially accepted evils. You could easily read this book as a metaphor for capitalism, or you could simply consume it as a dystopian horror story about cannibalism.

Tender is the Flesh, is a short and fast paced read. I couldn't look away, even when I wanted to. It would be a bold choice for an adventurous bookclub, but its not for everyone. Reader beware, this book might haunt you.

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