Ms. Hen reviews Tender is the Flesh

 

Tender is the Flesh

Augustina Bazterrica

Scribner

2017, 2020

Translated from the Spanish by Sarah Moses

Disclaimers

1. This book should not be read by vegetarians.

2. This book is not for the squeamish.

Ms. Hen decided to read this novel because her imaginary friend whose name begins with an A recommended it to her. It's amazing how well she knows Ms. Hen. Normally, she does not listen to machines, but she decided to pay attention this time, and she was rewarded.

This novel takes place in a dystopian future in which all the animals in the world have disappeared. Scientists have decided that the population needs to eat animal protein, so human meat processing plants have emerged. The protagonist, Marcos, works at a plant that breeds and slaughters head, or what they call human meat. Marcos' father owned the plant which processed cattle, so he has transitioned into this career, which pays a lot of money. He finds himself disgusted by the head that is killed for food.

Marcos is devastated over the loss of his son, and his wife left him, and is living with her family. His father is in a nursing home, and his sister lives far away, and he doesn't like the fact that she succumbs to popular beliefs. People eat human meat throughout the novel, and Ms. Hen is disgusted by this. A female head is delivered to Marcos, and he does not want to slaughter her.

An aspect of this novel that Ms. Hen decided she could learn from is its escalation. The novel is disgusting at the beginning, but then it gets more and more repulsive. Ms. Hen thinks this was done on purpose to freak out the reader. In this way, the novel reminds her of GEEK LOVE, which is a narrative that tends to build up tension and perverseness as it goes through the story. 

This novel also reminds Ms. Hen of the book she just read, CHILDREN OF MEN, but instead of all the children in the world disappearing, all the animals disappear. TENDER IS THE FLESH is wilder, however, and more shocking. The idea is the same: in the future, the world is startlingly different, and not what we expect it to be.

Ms. Hen was grossed out by this novel, but she found that she could not put it down. She read it faster than she reads most other books she has read recently. She's not sure if it was the writing style, or the subject matter, but she believes this is an important book that shows how humanity can turn to the dark side, and it's not that unrealistic.

Ms. Hen would not recommend this novel for vegetarians, or humanitarians, or anyone who cares deeply for anything, truly. This novel is meant to shock, and it does. The fact that it is written by a woman is interesting to Ms. Hen, and she wonders what type of woman she is. There are times when she read this, when she was so disgusted that she thought it was funny. She wonders if she's the only person to react this way. Sometimes the best way to react to horror is to laugh, because there's nothing else to do.