By Jay Grummel
BG Authors is not only a blog site on books, but it’s also a book club on campus. The club meets every Monday to either discuss the book of the month or have fun with writing prompts. Each month the club picks a different book pertaining to the genre assigned to the month. For October the genre is horror/thriller and our book pick was the award winning novella Tender is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica.
Tender is the Flesh takes place after the “Transition”, a term used to describe the event where a virus infected the world’s animals and was found to be deadly to humans. This resulted in a mass slaughter and burning of all animals, including pets and cattle. Due to destruction of a major food supply the world’s population is forced to either avoid meat entirely, or start eating each other. Cannibalism soon being institutionalised and normalized by those in higher economic standpoints, but after some time it became normal for everyone in the world with the exception of scavengers. Scavengers are the part of the population who cannot afford “special meat”, the term used to describe human meat. Instead, they are seen waiting by plants or killing others in the poverty areas.
Our main character Marcos works at a slaughterhouse to help support is dying father, who suffers from dementia. During the story we see Marcos’s internal conflict with his job and the world. He makes commentary on how once we remove the name they are no longer human. He also remarks how easy it is for people to become desensitized to the violence and murder of other human beings as long as it ensures their own stability. Marcos is then given a female FGP (First Generation Pure) “head” as a gift. Due to her being born in a breeding center she has no vocal cords and cannot communicate with a language. Soon, the inner conflicts Marcos was dealing with become external and he must decide if he views “heads” as humans or just another naive and domesticated cattle.
While I was reading this book I found myself feeling disgusted with the world. Its subtle remarks and commentary on media and government did not go unnoticed. Marcos believes the government made up the virus as a way to encourage population control and the media sold its story. Growing up in a capitalistic country I could see something similar being possible.
Another aspect of this book is desensitization. In order to eat human meat there needs to be a separation, so the government refers to it as special and never anything else. However, people are still aware its human. We see through different character’s dialogue and morality that they no longer view these people as human. The “heads” are seen as nothing more than something to eat. They’re describe as naive and animalistic. There’s even a game reserve Marcos delivers to. There are multiple instances where the “heads” surprise the characters in the story by acting like humans. They either show intelligence or emotional awareness, something found in most humans, but because they are seen as nothing but cattle this is surprising to the characters.
Overall this book kept me wanting to read more. It’s the type of book that reminds you of something horrid you see, but you just can’t look away. I appreciate the commentary on humanity and government. I also appreciate the awareness the author had on how quickly people can view others as something no longer human. I recommend this read to anyone getting into horror with a need for books with of social commentary hidden throughout.
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