It all happened so quickly. First, animals became infected with the virus and their meat became poisonous. Then governments initiated the Transition.
Now, 'special meat' - human meat - is legal. Marcos is in the business of slaughtering humans - only no one calls them that. He works with numbers, consignments, processing.
One day, he's given a gift to seal a deal: a specimen of the finest quality. He leaves her in his barn, tied up, a problem to be disposed of later. But she haunts Marcos.
Her trembling body, and watchful gaze, seem to understand. And soon, he becomes tortured by what has been lost - and what might still be saved.
Staff Choice: Sywert
Caitlin Starling: "I just finished reading Tender Is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica, which is not so much a book you enjoy as a book that completely overwhelms and destroys you."
Set in a dystopian future where humans can no longer eat animals, the disgusting choices humans then make are shielded through euphemistic language and a healthy dose of obfuscation.
An exploration of the depths of depravity we can reach and still stay 'within the rules', Tender is the Flesh is a viscous, cruel and shocking satire of both the meat industry and human ability to abuse and 'other' our own people.
Totally unforgettable.
Staff Choice: Matty
This book is the very definition of "not for everyone" but if you can take a bit of nastiness in your social satire then I cannot recommend this book enough. I read it because my colleague Sywert had it in his staff pics list and I am so glad I did. Set in a dystopian future where humans can no longer eat meat, they of course find a way and that way is to farm other humans for food. Naturally before we can reconcile doing something so horrific to our fellow man, we have to work out a way to "other" them and invent euphemistic language to cover the truth of what we're doing. Humans have always been good at that and it's laid so bare here. Bazterrica doesn't stop there though, she also touches on sexual politics, human cruelty, how vapid and selfish so many people are and how small a societal shift it takes for people to show that happily. There is of course a lot to learn here about the meat industry too, how we think about animals and how we really treat them in reality. What I really like as well is that although a lot of Tender is the Flesh is biting satire there's still space for her to go a bit ham and really enjoy some silly over the top evilness.
I could go on (inevitably) but it's just so good; cruel, shocking, nasty but so so smart and with really a lot to teach us all.
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