tender is the flesh is a horrid 'what if' dystopian that has normalised cannibalism. the protagonist, marcos, works at a processing/slaughter plant and this is the story of his descent into madness.

the opening of this short book is so disturbing and yet I was so intrigued. swiftly after the narrative opens, we are taken, along with some characters, on a tour of the plant and saying this is the most fucked up thing I have read in a while is one hell of an understatement. the quote i have highlighted at the top of this review comes immediately after the detached and yet so visceral and clinical descriptions of procedures--I had to shut the book and take a moment. the simplicity and power of those three words made me excited to see how bazterrica was going to deliver.

and yet, i was left feeling hungry for the remainder of the book.

the ending attempts to hit my seemingly too high expectations, but falls short due to being predictable. though I did enjoy the ending, it was simple and I wished basterrica would have pushed marcos further into his descent into madness.

despite all of this, I still will be reading her next book nineteen claws and a black bird.

* please check tws for this book. there are quite a few *