Tender Is the Flesh
INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER
Working at the local processing plant, Marcos is in the business of slaughtering humans—though no one calls them that anymore.
His wife has left him, his father is sinking into dementia, and Marcos tries not to think too hard about how he makes a living. After all, it happened so quickly. First, it was reported that an infectious virus has made all animal meat poisonous to humans. Then governments initiated the “Transition.” Now, eating human meat—“special meat”—is legal. Marcos tries to stick to numbers, consignments, processing.
Then one day he’s given a gift: a live specimen of the finest quality. Though he’s aware that any form of personal contact is forbidden on pain of death, little by little he starts to treat her like a human being. And soon, he becomes tortured by what has been lost—and what might still be saved.
Working at the local processing plant, Marcos is in the business of slaughtering humans—though no one calls them that anymore.
His wife has left him, his father is sinking into dementia, and Marcos tries not to think too hard about how he makes a living. After all, it happened so quickly. First, it was reported that an infectious virus has made all animal meat poisonous to humans. Then governments initiated the “Transition.” Now, eating human meat—“special meat”—is legal. Marcos tries to stick to numbers, consignments, processing.
Then one day he’s given a gift: a live specimen of the finest quality. Though he’s aware that any form of personal contact is forbidden on pain of death, little by little he starts to treat her like a human being. And soon, he becomes tortured by what has been lost—and what might still be saved.
BUY THE BOOK
These clubs recently read this book...
Community Reviews
What Bookclubbers are saying about this book
✨ Summarized by Bookclubs AI
Readers say *Tender Is the Flesh* by Agustina Bazterrica delivers a chilling, disturbing portrayal of a dystopian world that captivates with its unfli...
The best book that I will never read again.
I genuinely enjoyed the narrative but it took some WORK to get past the setting. If you can roll with the spirit of the novel then you get to see a fantastic break down of grief from a male perspective. It resonated with me in that way.
But it also put me off meat for about a week.
This book was so different than anything I have ever read. I enjoyed the comparisons that could be made to so many things about our indifference as human beings. At times it was hard to stomach but I understood that was intentional.
Once you finish, this story really sticks with you: it takes you to a near-future world where eating animal meat is a thing of the past, and humans are raised for food. The narrative has a cool, almost clinical tone that makes the unsettling concepts feel surprisingly close to home. It’s not just about shocking readers; it dives into how power, profit, and fear can shape our understanding of what’s normal. The pacing starts off steady and gradually builds a sense of creeping discomfort, making it great for lively group discussions.
Why it’s relevant today: it invites us to think about how we view the commodification of life, how institutions can normalize cruelty, and who gets to be considered human. It’s a thought-provoking reminder about animal rights, consumer culture, and the hidden costs of convenience.
Dark, Disturbing, and Completely Unforgettable
“The human being is the cause of all evil in this world. We are our own virus.”
From the first page, Tender is the Flesh made my stomach turn and my mind race. In a world where a virus makes all animal meat poisonous, humans have turned to eating each other instead. Marcos works at a processing plant for “special meat,” trying to stay numb to what’s become normal until he’s given a live specimen and everything starts to unravel.
I don’t really know how to feel about this book. Humans suck. We really do. The parallels to our own society are terrifying, and I’m still not sure what unsettled me more, the story itself or how believable it felt. I could talk about this book all day but also don’t want to talk about it at all because it was truly disturbing. And that ending… WTF!!
See why thousands of readers are using Bookclubs to stay connected.