Tender Is the Flesh

The book does not flinch from depicting the process of preparing humans for slaughter and then consumption, in addition to other scenes of brutality. How did you react to these scenes? Why did the author include this level of detail? Do you think that all of the gore and violence were necessary to fully explore the themes of the novel?

Did you find the "transition" described in the book credible? Were you surprised by how readily people accepted eating humans? What do you think would actually happen if a virus like the one in the novel made all animals dangerous to eat?

The author of Tender is the Flesh does not eat meat, but has stated that she is "not an a crusade to convert carnivores to vegetarianism." Did reading this novel change how you felt about eating meat?

In the Irish Times, Bazterrica said that "Objectivising and depersonalising others allows us to remove them from the category of human being (our equal) and place them in the category of a mere “other”, whom we can be violent to, kill, discriminate against, hurt, etc." How does the society in the novel differentiate between raised humans and regular humans? In what ways might the novel be a broader commentary on the ways that our actual society depersonalizes the "other"?

Marcos states that "There are words that cover up the world." Discuss the impact of the extensive use of euphemisms such as "special meat," "heads", "upper extremity," etc.

Marcos is starting to have qualms about eating the special meat, but he never fully condemns the world he is in (and that he had a role in bringing about). What did you think about his internal conflict (or lack thereof)?

Marcos touches on the fact that some believe that the virus wasn't real or that it was manufactured by the government to address overpopulation. Within the context of the novel, do you think that's true or not?

In what ways does Tender is the Flesh fit the framework of a typical horror novel? In what ways, and to what ends, does it subvert the conventions of the genre?

The ending comes as a shock. Were you surprised by Marcos' actions?

Does the dystopia described in Tender is the Flesh remind you of any other books you have read?

Would you recommend Tender is the Flesh to others? To whom? Why or why not?