The first covers a very compressed timeline where we get to know Marcos, learn of his family tragedies and bear witness to the new method of meat processing. Tender is the Flesh is broken into two parts. (In a clever bit of world-building, foodies have perfected the technique of butchering “head” piecemeal so that they always have fresh meat available.)

Marcos ties her up in the barn while he decides whether he should sell her for a tidy sum, breed her or use her for food. Like all “head,” her vocal chords have been severed so that she can’t complain and when it’s time to slaughter, the butcher won’t be upset by her screaming. His attempt at dissociation fails when a supplier, hoping to make nice for a botched order, gifts him with an expensive delivery - a young female “head” who is certified First Generation Pure (FGP), the most prized and costliest grade of “special meat.” But the memories are there, they remain with him.” See everything, understand, and not talk. Act automatically, observe, breathe, and nothing more. “He wishes he could anesthetize himself and live without feeling anything.

Marcos is also dealing with the death of his child and the resulting estrangement from his wife. Marcos also struggles with the Transition, but reminds himself that he does it to pay for his father’s care in a nursing home. He was “a person of integrity, that is why he went crazy.” His father had operated a renowned slaughterhouse prior to the virus, but was unable to cope with the Transition.

Marcos, our protagonist, manages a meat processing plant and is highly regarded in the field. Dubbed the “Transition,” the world’s meat counters were once again stocked with product - now referred to as “special meat.” Craving a meat fix, consumers (I use that word intentionally) turned to the only viable meat option remaining: humans. Animals have been eradicated, and for a while, the world went vegan out of necessity. Tender is the Flesh takes place in a future where a virus has made animal meat lethal to humans. It is a deeper critique of the entire global economy, our class structure and a food supply chain designed to minimize consumer guilt. To be clear, the novel is not simply a polemic about factory farming or a futuristic retelling of Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle. Reading Agustina Bazterrica’s Tender is the Flesh did not cause me to second-guess this decision. I have recently developed a preference for Impossible Burgers, a plant-based meat alternative, over ground beef.

Book tender is the flesh