Hands down one of the most brutal books I've read this year, or indeed ever! Tender Is the Flesh is set in Argentina in the near future, after a virus has wiped out most of the animal population. To meet the demands for meat, cannibalism has been sanctioned. Now, humans are bred for mass consumption.

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The use of language in this book fascinated me the most. It seems impossible that society could get used to eating humans as food, but Bazterrica shows you how people can become deadened to the idea, how the humans used as meat are dehumanised. They're never referred to as humans, but 'heads'. There's a scene where the MC, Marcos, is showing two potential recruits to the slaughterhouse where he works around the premises. This gives Bazterrica the opportunity to show us the inner workings of the slaughterhouse, and effectively factory farming, in disturbing detail. I really don't recommend reading this one while eating anything at all!

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I wished there was a bit more story to it. The worldbuilding is exquisite, and Bazterrica sets up this new way of life with such attention to detail, but sometimes I found myself wondering what was the plot again? However, it does get round to it eventually, and I found an unexpectedly sad plotline about a strained marriage and a tragic miscarriage.

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There's a fantastic review from Silvia Moreno-Garcia which you should all go and read! She mentions how Latinx authors are often pigeonholed into 'magical realism', because white audiences want 'authenticity'. Agustina Bazterrica doesn't give a fuck about that; she's written a brutal science fiction novel on her own terms, and it's excellent.

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This is my second translation by Sarah Moses this year, although she's flying solo this time, and once again she's delivered a translation which is so smooth and readable. It's written in small chapters which makes it ~somewhat~ easier to stomach, but also makes it insanely addictive. You'll be reading and feeling nauseous but you won't be able to put it down!