![]() First edition (Spanish) | |
Author | Agustina Bazterrica |
---|---|
Original title | Cadáver exquisito |
Translator | Sarah Moses |
Country | Argentina |
Language | Spanish |
Published | November 29, 2017 |
Publisher | Scribner |
ISBN | 9781982150921 |
Tender is the Flesh is a dystopian novel by Argentinean author Agustina Bazterrica. The novel was originally published in Spanish in 2017 and translated by Sarah Moses into English in 2020. Tender is the Flesh portrays a society in which a virus has contaminated all animal meat. Because of the lack of animal flesh, cannibalism becomes legal. Marcos, a human meat supplier, is conflicted by this new society, and tortured by his own personal losses.
The novel opens by describing the process of slaughtering humans, who are referred to as "head". The world has fallen into chaos after the "Transition", describing an event where a virus that infected animals was found to be deadly to humans, resulting in the mass slaughter and burning of animals, with the world's population forced either to go vegan or eat each other. Soon cannibalism was institutionalized, industrialized and normalized, with humans bred for consumption known as "special meat". Scavengers, who cannot afford the special meat, consume any dead body available.
Marcos works at one of these slaughterhouses in order to support his ailing father, who suffers from dementia. He describes his internal conflict with his job and the state of the world. Marco's job involves being a middle man, the one who purchases the "head" and then sells the products. The owner of a breeding center notes things like First Generation Pure (FGP's), describing "head" born in the breeding center. The breeding center delivers Marcos a female FGP as a gift.
More of Marcos' personal life is revealed as he talks to his wife Cecilia on the phone. The couple tried repeatedly and unsuccessfully to have a family. They had a son, Leo, who died while still a baby. After his son's death he and his wife separated. It is made clear that he is having an affair with a butcher in town. After their encounter, Marcos' sister Marisa and her family are introduced. She contributes nothing to their father's care. Marcos travels back home and in his interactions with the female FGP, he seems to see her as less of a product. He appears to develop feelings for the FGP and begins having sex with her, which is regarded as one of the worst transgressions in society.
Significant time passes. Marcos has named the female FGP Jasmine, due to her smell reminding Marcos of wild jasmine flowers. She has apparently been living in the house with him and is eight months pregnant.
Marcos's elderly father dies, and he scatters his ashes in the zoo his father brought him to as a child, now abandoned. Marisa insists on hosting a "farewell party" for their father but Marcos leaves after discovering his sister's "domestic head."
Marcos comes home to find Jasmine in labor with indications that the baby is in trouble. He calls his wife Cecilia, a professional nurse, to come and help. Jasmine gives birth to a boy. Marcos tells Cecilia that the baby is theirs now. He knocks Jasmine out and begins bringing her to the barn to slaughter her. Cecilia protests, stating that Jasmine could have given them more children. Marcos closes by saying "She had the human look of a domesticated animal.”
Tender is the Flesh was a winner of Argentina's Premio Clarin de Novela prize [4] and was praised by several critics. The New York Times Book Review's Daniel Kraus described the novel as "powerful" in displaying the monstrosities and desires of the hierarchical structure of capitalism. [2] Kraus also identified that replacing pigs with humans completely alters the view within the novel of industrialized farming. [2] Justine Jordan of The Guardian saw the landscape of the novel as similar to Argentine author Samanta Schweblin's novel Fever Dream . [4] Jordan described Tender Is the Flesh as "vampiric", "provocative" and "sorrowful". [4] Headstuff's David Tierney highlighted the use of dark humor as complimenting the novel's darkness and horror. [5] Tierney also identified the main weakness of the novel as Bazterrica babying the reader, with the book improving considerably when this restraint is relaxed. [5]
Scholars such as Megan Todd analyze various ways in which the novel serves as an allegory. Todd in particular described Bazterrica's novel as a metaphor for the politics of exploitation in neoliberal capitalism. [6] Sebastian Williams argues that the novel challenges a traditional humanist conceptualization of Self (as an autonomous, discrete subject), especially regarding the permeable boundaries between the individual and their environment (i.e., what humans consume; the diseases humans contract). Williams also notes that Bazterrica foregrounds broader cultural anxieties about zoonotic diseases; disease is never simply a material fact, but is embedded in cultural narratives that define politics, ethics, and so forth. [1]
Human cannibalism is the act or practice of humans eating the flesh or internal organs of other human beings. A person who practices cannibalism is called a cannibal. The meaning of "cannibalism" has been extended into zoology to describe animals consuming parts of individuals of the same species as food.
Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat. It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slaughter.
Islamic dietary laws are laws that Muslims follow in their diet. Islamic jurisprudence specifies which foods are halal and which are haram. The dietary laws are found in the Quran, the holy book of Islam, as well as in collections of traditions attributed to the Islamic prophet Muhammad.
Christian vegetarianism is the practice of keeping to a vegetarian lifestyle for reasons connected to or derived from the Christian faith. The three primary reasons are spiritual, nutritional, and ethical. The ethical reasons may include a concern for God's creation, a concern for animal rights and welfare, or both. Likewise, Christian veganism is not using any animal products for reasons connected to or derived from the Christian faith. Pescatarianism was widespread in the early Church, among both the clergy and laity. Among the early Judeo-Christian Gnostics the Ebionites held that John the Baptist, James the Just and Jesus were vegetarians.
The practice of vegetarianism is strongly linked with a number of religious traditions worldwide. These include religions that originated in India, such as Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, and Sikhism. With close to 85% of India's billion-plus population practicing these religions, India remains the country with the highest number of vegetarians in the world.
The killing of animals is animal euthanasia, animal sacrifice, animal slaughter, hunting, blood sports, roadkill or self-defense.
Dog meat is the flesh and other edible parts derived from dogs. Historically human consumption of dog meat has been recorded in many parts of the world.
Buddhist vegetarianism is the practice of vegetarianism by significant portions of Mahayana Buddhist monastics and laypersons as well as some Buddhists of other sects. In Buddhism, the views on vegetarianism vary between different schools of thought. The Mahayana schools generally recommend a vegetarian diet, claiming that Gautama Buddha set forth in some of the sutras that his followers must not eat the flesh of any sentient being.
Child cannibalism or fetal cannibalism is the act of eating a child or fetus. Children who are eaten or at risk of being eaten are a recurrent topic in myths, legends, and folktales from many parts of the world. False accusations of the murder and consumption of children were made repeatedly against minorities and groups considered suspicious, especially against Jews as part of blood libel accusations.
Cannibalism, the act of eating human flesh, is a recurring theme in popular culture, especially within the horror genre, and has been featured in a range of media that includes film, television, literature, music and video games. Cannibalism has been featured in various forms of media as far back as Greek mythology. The frequency of this theme has led to cannibal films becoming a notable subgenre of horror films. The subject has been portrayed in various different ways and is occasionally normalized. The act may also be used in media as a means of survival, an accidental misfortune, or an accompaniment to murder. Examples of prominent artists who have worked with the topic of cannibalism include William Shakespeare, Voltaire, Bret Easton Ellis, and Herschell Gordon Lewis.
The earliest records of vegetarianism as a concept and practice amongst a significant number of people are from ancient India, especially among the Hindus and Jains. Later records indicate that small groups within the ancient Greek civilizations in southern Italy and Greece also adopted some dietary habits similar to vegetarianism. In both instances, the diet was closely connected with the idea of nonviolence toward animals, and was promoted by religious groups and philosophers.
The Republic of Wine: A Novel is a satirical novel by Mo Yan, which was first published in 1992. The novel explores the relationship between Chinese people and food and drink, and comments on government corruption and excesses. It was translated to English by Howard Goldblatt.
Jewish vegetarianism is a commitment to vegetarianism that is connected to Judaism, Jewish ethics or Jewish identity. Jewish vegetarians often cite Jewish principles regarding animal welfare, environmental ethics, moral character, and health as reasons for adopting a vegetarian or vegan diet.
Acts of cannibalism in Africa have been reported from various parts of the continent, ranging from prehistoric times until the 21st century. The possibly oldest evidence of human cannibalism has been found in Kenya in eastern Africa. There is little evidence of later cannibalism in East Africa, but the Ugandan dictator Idi Amin was reputed to practise it, and acts of voluntary and forced cannibalism have been reported from the South Sudanese Civil War. While the oldest known written mention of cannibalism is from the tomb of the Egyptian king Unas, later evidence from Egypt shows it to only re-appear during occasional episodes of severe famine.
Sentience Politics is a Swiss anti-speciesist political organization with the goal of reducing the suffering of non-human animals. Founded in 2013, their activities include political campaigns, such as ballot initiatives for sustainable food, fundamental rights for primates or a ban on factory farming.
Animal–industrial complex (AIC) is a concept used by activists and scholars to describe what they contend is the systematic and institutionalized exploitation of animals. It includes every economic activity involving animals, such as the food industry, animal testing, medicine, clothing, labor and transport, tourism and entertainment, selective breeding, and so forth. Proponents of the term claim that activities described by the term differ from individual acts of animal cruelty in that they constitute institutionalized animal exploitation.
"The Meat Fetish" is a 1904 essay by Ernest Crosby on vegetarianism and animal rights. It was subsequently published as a pamphlet the following year, with an additional essay by Élisée Reclus, entitled The Meat Fetish: Two Essays on Vegetarianism.
Representation of cannibals exists adjacent to the representation of any culture associated with alterity, political discourse, or blasphemous rhetoric. Homer's Odyssey, Beowulf, Shakespeare's Titus Andronicus, Flaubert's Salammbo, Conrad's Heart of Darkness, and Melville's Moby Dick each feature a type of cannibalistic representation that is larger than the ambiguity of cultural versus survival cannibalism.
Acts of cannibalism in Asia have been reported from various parts of the continent, ranging from ancient times to the 21st century. Human cannibalism is particularly well documented for China and for islands that today belong to Indonesia.