Tender is The Flesh Book Review

First, let’s start by saying this book review and post itself may not be for the faint of heart.

For most people, a book about cannibalism seems like a pretty obvious pass, but I love the horror genre. When it comes to movies and books, the scary stuff is the stuff for me. This book shows cannibalism in a way I haven’t seen yet.

Tender is the Flesh is a book that follows a society where cannibalism is pretty normalized. In this world, the animals have succumbed to a virus that has infected all animals making them inedible, the government then puts out a statement saying that a vegan and vegetarian lifestyle is not a viable option. Starting the production of what the book refers to as, “special meat”.

The way the book describes the processing of meat is surely disgusting as in some parts it has a tendency to be graphic but also has this very unattached and “matter of fact” way of talking about it, which I think is the grossest part of it all. It made me think of the way I’m unattached to my food as a meat-eater. I had a lot of moments of contemplation, figuring out whether I should become vegan or vegetarian because the thought of meat made me queasy.

I do think that this scenario is 100% possible, which is also scary and put me into an existential state for a couple of days. The way that a lot of us have proven to succumb to mass hysteria to make stupid decisions that hinder our society instead of helping is a situation we have been living through for the last couple of years. Of course, covid-19 and cannibalism are quite a long stretch from each other but time and time again I have been proven wrong.

I think as graphic and sickening as these scenarios are, the book is a quick short read that you might want to check out if you are in a reading slump. It is a book that catches your attention and holds it to the very end. Every day I would wake up and be excited to read this book just to see what would happen next. The ending also has a crazy twist that I didn’t see coming and was sitting there for 30 minutes just shook by what I had just experienced. I legit read those final lines over and over just to ensure I had read what I had just read.

So… good luck.