Tender is the Flesh, Agustina Bazterrica

★★★★★

A truly sharp, grotesque little book.

I bet you read the synopsis and thought to yourself, I can read that, I can read a book about cannibalism. But I'm here to tell you, nothing can prepare you for this book.

The opening chapters drop you into a horrific world strewn with body parts, flayed skin, blood, and entrails - and that's just his day job! Then it adds a layer of grief and disassociation that starts to make you question all you thought you knew about humans.

When I say this book is gruesome, I mean it. It's one thing to read or watch a slasher story with blood and gore and think it's over-the-top. It's another thing to read about stomach-turning, viscerally repelling horrors told with such cold aloofness that makes it that much more unsettling.

If you're ready for a challenge and think your stomach can handle it, pick this book up immediately and try to read it in one sitting. Bon appétit!