Tender is the Flesh Review

Tender is the Flesh by Augustina Bazterrica is an anything but tender dystopian horror examining dehumanization and the hierarchical value assigned to life. The author and translator wrote in blunt and visceral prose, allowing some of the greatest horror of the book to come from the world building more than the plot. While the narrative was slow to start and the characters are unlikable, something about the book seemed hauntingly plausible. It’s worth a read.

In a world overcome by a virus (sound familiar?) all animal meat poses a serious risk of infection to humans. Consequently cannibalism is legalized (well, that escalated quickly) and human beings known as heads are bred for the purpose of consumption. People begin supplying meat and other “animal products” in the place of chickens, cows, etc. Apparently criminals can also be sentenced to the municipal slaughterhouse.  

Some see this book and it’s graphic descriptions of human begins facing the meat and animal processing we currently apply to animals in the real world as a work of vegan literature. I personally found far more meaning in this work as a study on how readily people may be dehumanized. How many aspects of contemporary life depend on exploited or underpaid workers, poor environmental practices, etc. If many of us are so willing to explicitly or implicitly see others as being of less worth than ourselves, as evidenced by our continued compliance with systems of inequity, than is cannibalism replacing animal meat really such a stretch?  

The Man in the High Castle

The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick
Narrated by Jeff Cummings
Brilliance Audio

I just finished listening to Philip K. Dick’s The Man in the High Castle on Libro.fm. I first became familiar with this title through Amazon’s streaming adaptation. Having previously seen Dick’s work adapted for the screen with Blade Runner (adapted from Dick’s novel, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?), I knew there was a strong possibility the novel might differ from the show. While I never finished the series on Amazon, based on the first season I would assert that my guess is correct. Dick’s novel is less action packed and suspenseful than the show, preferring a more esoteric and philosophical bent. 

The Power by Naomi Alderman

Imagine the reversal of expectations of Blonde Roots meets the format of The Handmaid’s Tale meets the sci-fi dystopia of The Fireman meets elements of the spirituality of The Parable of the Sower. In The Power women suddenly develop electrifying new abilities and patriarchal structures begin to topple as social, political, and religious are redefined. What if God was Mother? What does it mean to be a woman? Would the world be a better place if women ran the place? How do the oppressed become the oppressor? These are just some of the questions explored by this novel. 

The Good:

• The book presents an original concept that draws the reader in. 
• It’s easy to become wrapped up in the world of the novel. Both the narrative and the meta narrative created by the structure of a book within a book are fascinating. 
• The characters are compelling. I especially enjoyed reading Allie’s chapters and considering the ideas posed by Alderman about the nature of faith and prophecy.
• Alderman did an EXCELLENT job narrating her own audiobook. She’s right up there with Neil Gaiman and a select group of other authors who can read their own books with all the skill of trained actors. 

The Less Good

• As fascinating of a concept as this book was, for all its 382 pages it ultimately didn’t dive deeply enough into the questions it posed for my liking. 
• The ending was...somewhat disappointing. Without getting into spoilers...while sometimes the suggestion or promise of something can be more impactful than the thing itself, other times it’s more effective to show than to tell. I think Alderman might have pulled the curtain down just a bit too soon on the book within a book (while possibly taking to long to get to the end). And perhaps a bit too late on the meta story. 
• The concluding section, reminiscent of Atwood’s final pages of The Handmaid’s Tale, seemed a bit on the nose and perhaps long. I enjoyed it, but less might have been more here.  

Overall I enjoyed this book. The plot was interesting and it was easy to become invested in the characters. Although there were some loose threads that were not fully explored, I think this is a great contribution to the field of dystopian fiction and a great exploration of gender in science fiction.