Rating: 5 stars. 

If you lived in a world where everyone was eating human flesh, would you? 

Written By Agustina Bazterrica and translated from Spanish to English in 2020 by Sarah Moses, Tender is the Flesh is a work of speculative fiction that definitely lives up to that name. Readers stare horrifically into a world in which a virus makes animals deadly to humans—all animals, including livestock. The meat we eat is no longer a viable dietary option, but instead of living the vegan lifestyle or coming up with a great alternative to help with their missing nutritional need, the government takes the opportunity to make cannibalism legal. 

Our main protagonist is Marco, who owns and runs his father's meat processing plant. Marco is old enough to remember when his father's plant butchered livestock, not people, what the public calls 'special meat'. 

If you can stomach it, you'll find that the world and its people are horrible. But you like Marco, because he doesn't eat the special meat, he refuses to call it that. He seems to be the only person who refuses to bow to the will of this society. He refuses to give in to the 'keeping up with the appearances' life his sister and her children seem to want for themselves. He has his own issues, and things get even worse when he is gifted a woman, an FG (first generation) female. His first thought is to dispose of her, but she haunts him, her trembling body, her watchful gaze, almost as if she understands everything. Marco wonders if she could be the key to recovering what's been lost in his world. 

Tender is the Flesh was blood-curdling, gut-wrenching, and you will not put it down. Your morbid curiosity will lead you down this rabbit hole. If you are wondering about political issues that may stem from such a story, there is a lot there. However, you will find yourself pulled into the world of Marco. You'll find yourself pushing out the world around Marco and focusing on him and his struggles. Agustina's writing is powerful, and her descriptions are everything. Every word is meant to make you feel revolted; every mention of the meat, freshness, the female, the stud, the product, it makes you feel the weight of each word. Her writing's pacing is structured to fill you with disgust, but you're still consumed by the spectacle, watching as it unfolds towards its horrific and shocking end. 

You can find Tender is the Flesh on Bookshop.org, a site that allows you to support local independent bookstores. It is also available through major retailers.