Tender is the Flesh
By Augustina Bazterrica
Genres : Horror, Dystopia, Science fiction, Future, 2021-read.
Rating 5/5
So I am giving this one a 5 star rating. This is one of those books that gets a lower rating for being good. There were many futuristic dystopian novels I had read and loved/liked/hated some of them but none gave me the shivers like this one. Humans supplanting animals is an agreeable and digestible future?? I felt that cruelty and ruthlessness are celebrated in this world the author created and the main protagonist at the end reveals his dark side which comes as a blow. I had few ideas on how the story might have turned out while reading it and extrapolating but what actually came is a jolt. The terms and fight for human rights would have a whole new level of meaning in this society.
Coming to the story, Tejos Marcos is a man pursuing and being pursued by many evils. His beloved father is suffering from dementia and is locked up in a mental hospital. His wife has left him bereaved after their young son dies suddenly. His only other family, his sister, cares little for them and when she has to, pretends her way through the basic necessities. The world they are living in is at some point in a distant future. Some virus infects all animals and they are deemed unfit for living. Eating them could be fatal to humans and also getting a scratch or a bite from them. So huge number of animal carcasses are piled up and set to fire in a bid to rid themselves of the burden. After a while, humans craving for animal meats resort to cannibalism. Doctors also suggest that essential amino acids needed are not fully provided by plant proteins. So cannibalism is legitimized.
Supply plants crop up where massive numbers of humans are bred like animals in cages - under proper care, vaccinations, food and regulations. Their vocal cords are cut off at the beginning to keep them from screaming their heads off. They are highly docile and domesticated except for the females who are pregnant. Pregnancy is only achieved through artificial insemination. Processing plants are the next in line which turn the "heads" (these products/human animals) into usable products for the butcher shops. Marcos is a "big" guy in one of the most known processing plants. Heads are stunned, killed, dried, cut into pieces before shipped off to the butcher shop.
Heads are used for pets - very degrading to even think of, for lab experiments, for food and quality meat. Marcos is once gifted a female "head" as pet. He thinks of getting rid of her but he impregnates her. Its a crime according to their laws. He conceals her in his house and protects her with tenderness and great care. This behavior of his is what makes his subsequent actions unbelievably cruel and wanton. If he had never shown kindness to the girl, it would have been fine I guess. He would have been one of the rest of them but now there is no match to him in his deviousness. The ending is a blow to faith and trust. It must be read without miss!!
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