ARC Review of Tender is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica

I received an ARC of Tender is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica and translated by Sarah Moses. The premise is a dystopian world where animals are contaminated with a deadly virus forcing humans to eradicate them and look toward a new protein source; humans raised for slaughter. With that description in mind, I knew this would be a dark book but I was not fully prepared for how nauseating and vile this book would be. I literally felt like throwing up every time I picked this book back up and the ending was so shocking that I burst into tears.

Content warnings for cannibalism, graphic animal violence, rape, branding, slavery, and dismemberment.

The story follows Marcos who is floundering after the death of his infant son. He works in a human processing plant and justifies his job because he needs to money to look after his ailing father. He looks down on people who eat "special meat" and feels morally superior. However, midway through the book, he starts making awful choices (including eating people) that show he is no better than the cannibals. I felt the author was sending incredibly mixed signals. As a satire, it would've felt stronger if Marcos would've made consistent choices.

Something I felt missing was the option to be vegan. It is mentioned in passing that there are some "veganoids" but because that option wasn't really explored, it made it harder for me to buy in that people would immediately resort to cannibalism.

The writing was very simple. "There are trees outside the cage, and he leaves it to walk beneath them. It's a hot day and the sky is clear. The trees provide a bit of shade. He's sweating." Oftentimes, the author (or translator) chose to use pronouns instead of names, making it confusing who they were referring to. I had to reread paragraphs using context to figure out who she was referring to.

Because the writing wasn't strong, the descriptions were horrifying, and the satire message was muddled, I ended up giving the book 2 stars. I feel this book should be marketed as horror rather than dystopian. People who like to read terrifying books might be the only ones who would enjoy this story.

Thank you to Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for a honest review. This book will be published August 4, 2020.

Mid-Month Check In

So far in the first half on July I've finished 4 books. I find I don't read quite as much when I don't have a TBR but I've also been distracted with more t.v. and movies lately which factors into it.

I picked up The Child Finder by Rene Denfield. This was a mystery about a woman with a mysterious past searching for lost or kidnapped children. She herself had been abducted at some point and escaped at age 9-10 but had no memories of that time. While the story focusing on the present was good, I wanted to know more about her past. There is a sequel that I'll eventually be picking up. I gave the book 4 stars.

Then I picked up Heartstopper Volume 3 by Alice Oseman. This is such a delightful story about high school romance between two boys. This volume specifically also addresses eating disorders and self harm which wasn't presented in any sort of a preachy way although it could've used a bit more attention. I gave the book 4 stars and will pick up Volume 4 whenever it eventually comes out. 

Since I had been in a mood for more non-fiction, I then chose Behind the Beautiful Forevers by Katherine Boo. The author focused on a slum in Mumbai, India and the daily lives of a few families and individuals who were working so hard to improve their lives. There is focus on the corruption in the police and politicians, the tensions between Hindus and Muslims, and poor families tearing down other poor families due to envy. It was utterly heartbreaking to read and so compelling I had to remind myself that these were all true events and real people. I gave the book 5 stars and would highly recommend!

Next I reread A Closed and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers. I loved revisiting this world and these characters. There are two timelines, Pepper's childhood and the present-day. They eventually intertwine but I definitely preferred the past storyline. After finishing I really wanted to pick up the next book but have so many other new books to read I have to just wait a bit longer. I gave the book 4 stars.

I am currently reading two others which I hope to include in the end of month wrap up.

July TBR

I participated in a readathon in June and I'm planning to participate in another readathon in August so for July, I'm going to solely focus on mood-reading. I do have 1 ARC I need to read but other than that, I'm going to see what I'm interested in.

The ARC is Tender is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica.

Books I've DNF'd in the first half of the year

These are all the books I started and chose to quit this year. I'm a mood reader and sometimes I'm just in the wrong mood for a book. Others just don't grab me or are terribly written. I'll give a quick reason why I DNF'd each of these.

1. Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado
Basically, I tried to read this on two separate occasions. I think her writing was really boring but I also don't like short story collections so a total miss for me. I got about 45% into it.

2. The Girl with No Names by Serena Burdick
I felt this book was mis-marketed and I wasn't getting the book they described. The characters were flat and one-dimensional. Gave up about the 40% mark.

3.The Subtle Knife by Phillip Pullman
I read the first book and thought it was okay and eager to see where it picked up. Definitely wasn't the right mood for such a slow book. Only read about 20% before quitting.

4. The Illness Season by Clare Beams
I didn't give this a real chance, probably only 15 pages but I didn't get on with the writing.

5. Bossypants by Tina Fey
Another book that I gave two separate chances but just thought it wasn't funny. Her stories seemed to lack direction and I didn't care.

6. The Vanderbeekers at 141st Street by Karina Yan Glaser
I picked this up recently just wanting a light fluffy middle-grade and had heard some good stuff on Youtube about it. It just didn't grab me and I know I wasn't the target audience so I put it down after about 60 pages.

7. The Overstory by Richard Powers

I might try this again but I read about 25 pages and felt like nothing was happening. The focus was so much on setting and skipped over what I thought would've been interesting. It was not the right timing so I'll try when I want a much slower book.

Mid-year Check in with Goals

Now that 2020 is halfway over (will it ever end?) I wanted to check in with my goals to see how I'm doing and recommit myself to ones I've forgotten about.

1. Complete the 24 reading prompts for the Reading Women Challenge.
I've read 17 of the reading prompts which means I'm ahead of schedule.

2. Complete the 24 reading prompts for the Reading Harder Challenge.
I've read 20 of the reading prompts which means I'm considerably ahead of schedule.

3. Read at least 5 pre-2020 owned books each month (for a total of 60)
I've slightly adapted this to just be owned books as I've not kept track of books I've received this year. If I own it, I'm counting it and thus far, I've read 25 books that I own. Definitely need to step this up since I'm behind.

4. Re-read an average of 1 book a month (not including Harry Potter)
I have re-read 5 books so I'm slightly behind. While this has been an enjoyable task, there are so many intriguing new releases that vie for my attention but I know some that I want to re-read at a specific time that will help me fulfill this challenge.

5. DNF books after 50-100 pages if I'm not enjoying them.
 I'm actually doing pretty well on this challenge. There have been a few I've pushed through that I hated but I was either reading them as an ARC (which I feel compelled to finish) or they fit some challenges and I felt another book that fit the prompt wouldn't be any better. I'll post my DNFs in the next post.

June Wrap Up #2

I achieved my goal of fulfilling 7 prompts for the Hogsmeade Readathon. I also was able to read 2 additional books outside of the readathon.

Obtain the map out of Hogwarts (read a book with a map)- Dare to Disappoint by Ozge Samanci

This was a graphic memoir of Ozge's childhood growing up in Turkey. I found it very engaging. 4 stars

Three Broomsticks (read a book in a trilogy)- March Book 1 by John Lewis, Scott Aydin, Nate Powell

Another amazing graphic memoir of John Lewis' time and involvement in the Civil Rights movement. The artwork sometimes made the text difficult to read but the story was fascinating and incredibly relevant all these years later. 4 stars.

Madam Puddifoot's Tea and Cakes (start a read with a cup of tea)- Heartstopper Vol. 1 by Alice Oseman

This was such a cute graphic novel about an openly gay boy who becomes friends with a seemingly straight boy. They start crushing on each other and the butterflies they feel are nearly palpable. This made me smile. 4 stars

Hog's Head (read a book with less than 10,000 ratings on GR)- The Girl Aquarium by Jen Campbell

This was a poetry collection that I just didn't connect with. The author is British and writes several of her poems in a British slang/accent that made it difficult for me to understand what was being said. There were two I really liked, but the rest didn't move me. 2 stars.

Honeyduke's (read a book with a pink or green cover)- The Fire Never Goes Out by Noelle Stevenson

I was very excited to pick up this new graphic memoir because I loved Noelle Stevenson's graphic novel Nimona. However, this read more like diary entries over what has happened the last few years. She touches on some important and heavy topics, but then doesn't dive any deeper. I felt if she was going to write about her life, she needed to really analyze and examine it. I gave it 3 stars.

Shrieking Shack(read a horror or thriller)- The Southern Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix

This was pitched as bored houseswives in the south take on a vampire plaguing their neighborhood. And I suppose that is definitely true. However, there is so much sexism, racism, and gaslighting that by the end of it, I didn't just want to vampire to die, I wanted several other characters to die too. I gave it 2 stars because it was a compelling read but it was not a great choice and I probably would've dnf'd it if it didn't fulfill a challenge. 

Owl Post (read the last book added to your TBR)- Dead Trees Give No Shelter by Wil Wheaton

This was a short story that I listened to on audiobook. Wil Wheaton is a fabulous narrator and a great writer too. This was a story about a man who goes home to witness the execution of his brother's murderer and gets caught up in the monster legend of the town. I do wish it was a bit longer and more fleshed out but overall, a creepy read that I gave 4 stars.

After the readathon I picked up Jeffrey by Paul Rudnick. A play focusing on a gay man named Jeffrey living in the 1990s in New York City at the height of the AIDS crisis. He decides to give up sex due to his fear but then falls for an HIV+ man. It was interesting but ultimately I wanted more character development and time to connect. I gave it 3 stars.

Lastly, I picked up Heartstopper Vol. 2 by Alice Oseman. The continuation of Nick and Charlie's relationship is so cute. I love what a positive example this is for queer teens. I gave it 4 stars.