Tender Is the Flesh

Augustina Bazterrica

2017

January, 2024

6.5/10

My biggest complaint is that the description of the meat-processing facilities seemed to drag on a for all of Part 1. However, I then realized that the whole point was that the processing was meant to be the visceral horror. Maybe I'm just desensitized, but it didn't make me feel anything at all.

The plot was a bit predictable (until it wasn't). I also felt like too much emphasis was put on obvious topics. For example, we learn that the protagonist lost a child at some point. And then that fact is thrown around endlessly. Every thought and idea is expressed in the form of "He felt this way... because he lost his child," or "He did that... because he lost his child," or "That's how it is for someone who has lost a child." It never ends. The same goes for the dad being in a home.

As much as I liked the story, the writing was simply off. It was engaging, though. I just felt like there was a considerable amount of wasted potential.