Tender is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica, translation by Sarah Moses

 

First sentence: “Carcass, Cut in half. Stunner. Slaughter line. Spray wash.”

Tender is the Flesh is a horror story set in a world where an infectious virus has infected all animal meat  making the meat lethal to eat or even be around (supposedly). To adjust to this reality, the governments instituted the “Transition” which allows for the consumption of human flesh, euphemistically referred to as “special meat”. The meat industry has retooled itself to breed and slaughter human beings who are merely called “head”.

Marcos is a supervisor in a slaughtering facility who oversees the receiving of new head, processing, and making sure the breeders are delivering quality head. He is weary from dealing with family issues and tries to not think too much about what he does and maintain an emotional detachment. Then one of the breeders servicing his facility sends him a prime female head delivered to his remote home. Marcos begins to relate to the woman as a human being and treats her like one. This is forbidden and could result in Marcos himself being sent to slaughter.

This is my first book by Bazterrica and won’t be my last. She has a new book coming out in March 2025, also translated by Sarah Moses, which I have pre-ordered. Bazterrica and Moses are a good team. The prose is clean and sharp and flow allowing the reader to immerse themselves in the story.

There are two aspects to the horror within the book. The first is the treatment of humans like so many head of cattle and the acts of breeding, slaughtering, and packaging them. The second, and to me more horrible, is the way these acts are normalized, treated as an everyday part of life. I’m not exaggerating when I say that it was a “jam a knuckle in the mouth” reaction to the images brought forth by the matter of fact way the “special meat” industry is conducted. It is thought provoking and raises the question, could this become a reality in the face of climate change and threats to food supplies. I think of Tender is the Flesh as an extension of Soylent Green which I thought of as pretty horrible when the movie came out but this is much worse. Unfortunately I don’t now see it as a stretch to think consumers would quickly adjust.

The actual motivations and practicalities of institutionalized cannibalism are left to the reader's imagination.But could the governments really pull it off aren’t really important. Marcus himself has doubts that the virus really exists. He refuses, unlike everyone else, to carry an umbrella in case a bird should poop on them.

Tender is the Flesh is a well written work of horror that should repulse the reader that also makes the reader question if we could descend to this level. I loved it but would need to know someone well before recommending it to them.

The Spirit Bares Its Teeth by Andrew Joseph White

First let me say that this is a terrific title and it is one reason I picked up the book. If you decide to read it, keep in mind that there might be more than one spirit.

The Spirit Bares Its Teeth is set in 1883 in an alternative Victorian England. Decades before, the veil separating the spirit from the physical world thins and at the same time people are born with violet eyes. These people can lift the veil and see into and exploit the spirit world. In England at least, people with this ability are rigorously controlled through acts of parliament and the Royal Speaker Society. Anyone practicing spirit-work without being sanctioned could be executed or sent to an asylum. Women are not allowed to lift the veil, ostensibly because of their constitutions; they are subject to veil sickness. In reality, men realize the power that comes from being able to see beyond the veil and want it for themselves. Women born with violet eyes are relegated to the role of brood mare, to be married off to wealthy men in order to produce violet-eyed male babies.

In this misogynistic world we meet our protagonist, Gloria/Silas, a neurodiverse 16 year old born female who only wants two things: to live her life as a man and to become a surgeon. Her brother, George, is a surgeon and indulges Silas (as I will henceforth refer to him), in both her desires. Under George’s tutelage she develops an extensive knowledge of anatomy and surgery.

In an attempt to avoid marriage and her horror of pregnancy and being a mother, Silas attempts to join the Royal Speaker Society by pretending to be someone else. She is discovered to be female. She would likely have been executed for this crime but for the intervention of Lord Luckenbill, the president of the society, who wants her for his son, Edward.

To save her, Silas’ parents agree to Luckenbill’s suggestion to send Silas to Braxton's Finishing School and Sanatorium to be broken in spirit and turned into a good and subservient wife. Really, it’s the Victorian version of a conversion. This is where the story gets going. All is not as it seems at Braxton’s, girls disappear completely and are not heard from in the outside world again. Silas is determined to find out what happened to the missing girls.

I picked up this book after one of my favorite booktubers, Willow Talks Books, flashed the cover in her tier ranking of 267 books; it’s in her A tier. Loved the cover and title,but I didn't read much about the book before I checked it out. I was 103 pages in before I knew it, slowed down, and realized that it’s a YF book. I hadn’t noticed that in the description. I confess I might have let it go had I known. But a 100 pages had flown by and I was loving it. I have to say that YA has come a long way since I was a yute. I can’t imagine themes of transgenderism and body horror in books I read back then.

Something that struck me is that had it been aimed toward an older audience it would have been longer and developed in a more detailed manner. Instead it’s more “this is the way it is and let’s keep moving”. This isn’t a criticism and doesn’t take away from the book. White is a very talented writer whose words flow across the page.

I like White’s style of writing. I find it smooth and flowing. Like I said above, after starting the book I was 100 pages in before I came up for air. I also finished it in a day and that’s without skimming. I like the way the author writes Silas and how he generates empathy in the reader.as Silas deals with his neurodiversity and frustration at not being able to live his own life the way he wants, as a man and surgeon. Later in the book Silas finds an ally in another trans character, Daphne, a biological male desiring to live as a female. I’m an old, white, CIS guy but I felt that the author does a good job of conveying the deep needs of the two trans characters particularly within the moral strictures of Victorian England.

This book is horror and potential readers need to anticipate they will experience intense misogyny, psychological, emotional, sexual assault, revenge, and body horror. Trigger warnings apply. The author hits hard on the misogyny and how the patriarchy had no compunctions to declaring someone ill who flaunts societal standards. In the book this is called veil sickness which is treated by institutionalizing, brainwashing, and in extreme cases death. The stakes for survival are high for Silas and his ally, Daphne. This may be YF but the author doesn’t hold back. The reader is repulsed by the Victorian misogynistic treatment of women and lifted up by the resilience of the main character to meet the terrors they face.

I don’t know if the author intends this to be a standalone but I would really like to see more of these characters and this world.

Annie Bot by Sierra Greer

There may be spoilers ahead so beware.

Annie Bot is a book that seems to polarize readers. It’s the Washington Post’s Best Science Fiction of the Year but at the other end I have heard a well articulated but scathing, “I hate this book with a passion” review. I’m toward the lower end of those extremes and had a problem with the way it was resolved. As I read and followed Annie’s development I had Star Trek’s Data and Blade Runner’s Roy Batty in mind. Roy in particular because he only wanted a chance to live.

Annie Bot takes place in a world where robots, indistinguishable from humans,have been engineered and are available to consumers, though the price is high. The female models, called Stellas, have three modes: nanny, housework, and cuddle bunny. The owner also has the discretion of turning on autodidactic which means the robot can learn and grow. The skin of the robots is grown from human embryos and can apparently grow body hair. A YouTube reviewer noted that this astounding technology is not reflected in other aspects of society.

Cuddle bunny Annie is purchased by Doug who has her in autodidactic mode. Annie’s programming compels her to satisfy all of Doug's wishes. Her programming is so sophisticated that her libido can be adjusted up to ten if Doug desires. As the story progresses, we see Annie learn and grow as an individual but she can’t go against her programming and suppresses the emotions she is developing. She can be confused, conflicted, depressed, unhappy, angry.

Doug is divorced and single and his relationship with Annie is shown to be domestic abuse. He explodes in anger but doesn’t tell Annie why he’s angry leading to her experiencing confusion and anxiety. This gets worse as the book advances with Doug’s verbal and emotional abuse, threats to erase her, and gaslighting. His physical abuse takes the form of putting her in a closet for long periods. He doesn’t acknowledge that Annie is still learning when he explodes in anger over trivial matters. Doug is a massive dick, I wonder if the author has positioned Doug as an incel, acting out his frustrations and insecurities and need for undivided attention from human women. Doug is divorced but has given Annie his ex-wife’s features and Annie is the unhappy recipient of his anger and resentment toward his ex. She was lucky to escape.

This is very painful to read and I would give the book a trigger warning.

The resolution was the most unsatisfactory part of the book for me. Annie escapes but not under her own agency, it is given to her. She should have been able to take it. I wanted her to find a way to defeat her programming. Instead, Doug is given a redemption arc, a redemption he absolutely does not deserve. He is not a good guy and it was impossible for this reader to believe he can change in the way he does. After watching the suffering he has put Annie through, giving him redemption pissed me off. He should have been punished in some way, broken, forced to watch Annie in triumph.. Bah, I’m mad all over again just writing this.

Annie Bot did make me think about what is human and even more so who would purchase a cuddle bunny. Would the relationship between owner and cuddle bunny necessarily devolve into abuse? Would the primary market be those feeling resentment and anger toward human women? Could robots gain independence in this world? Interesting sociological implications. I would like to see the author write a followup that looks at meatier issues.

I won’t say don’t read it because it can make one think about what is human and the place of synthetic beings in society but I give it two stars for the war it was resolved.

Review: Butter by Asako Yuzuki, translated by Polly Barton

The hype around Butter as a cult Japanese bestseller got my attention and I pre-ordered it. It was nearly a DNF that took me nearly two months to finish.I guess I would put it into the “not for me” category because I don't have a problem with the story or writing. The cover blurb calls it “A novel of food and murder” and it’s half right. Lots of food, no real murder.

Rika, a female reporter For the Shumei Weekly, becomes fascinated with the case of Manako Kajii who detention awaiting retrial standing accused of murdering three me she had been exploiting. When she wrangles a interview with Kajii the editorial desk is thrilled; Manako Kajii has the public's attention and she had refused all interviews. This night be Rika's path to getting a story published under her own name.

Kajii has one stipulation, she won't talk about her case. Kajii has a strong, commanding personality and her main passion is food, especially butter. She is derisive of Rika's lack of interest in food and gives her dining tasks to perform and report her feelings back to Kijii.

Rika wants to gain favor with Kajii so she performs those food related tasks but she begins to embrace food as an end unto itself and not merely a measns to survive. Rika begins to add kilos in weight with the rich diet Kajii encourages.

Butter isn't really about murder. Murder is just a mechanism to motivate Rika on a path to self-discovery, to grow as an individual, to learn to take control of her life. The Manako Kajii story begins to consume her, causing her much inner turmoil and conflict and forcing her to confront her troubled relationship with her parents.

Rika's obsession manifests itself in her physical and mental wellbeing causing her best friend Reiko to try to intervene to save her friend. As Reiko gets involve, she too is forced to confront the possibility that what she perceives as her role in life isn't what she needs as an individual. I see the main story as the tense, emotional rollercoaster these two women find themselves upon.

I would say that potential readers should forget about murder and expect a deep exploration of friendship, self-realization, body shaming, confronting one's past, challenges to societal expectations of the role of women, psychological manipulation and, of course food.

If you are a westerner interested in Japanese culture then I think you'll enjoy this book. The descriptions of food are interesting and very different to my western palate. One food described I can make is Ochazuke (green tea over rice with toppings), and I plan to try it soon. The worship of butter does get a bit tiresome, though and I think I gained a kilo just reading about it.

The main theme of Rika and Reiko discovering things about themselves and bringing out their inner strengths is solidly explored. But I would say that the book is way too long coming in at 465 pages. I embrace long books so that isn't a factor when I say that it could easily 150 pages, maybe more. It wasn't until I was a little over half way through (chapter 10) the book that I started to think it was going somewhere and finished it in a day. The author brings all the themes together in a way that I enjoyed and gives the reader a satisfactory ending.

Key words: Japan fiction, Japanese culture, food in fiction, friendship, self-discovery, self-realizationbody shaping, manipulation, societal expectations

I Have Some Questions For You by Rebecca Makkai

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This is one of my favorite books of 2023, ticking, as it does, all the boxes —in a nicely clever way — for what makes me enjoy this approach to a mystery story.

Bodie Kane, a well regarded podcaster and instructor in film studies, is invited back to her prestigious former boarding school — Granby — to teach two January mini-mester classes. The podcasting class is the focus of this story. Bodie gives the students prompts to develop their podcast based on some aspect of Granby. Among the prompts of the murder of a teacher and, very personal to Bodie, the murder of a student, Thalia Keith: Thalia had been Bodie’s roommate. The case was quickly solved and the athletic director convicted and sent to prison. But as two students re-investigate the case they begin to question the original investigation.

The narrative is first person from the viewpoint of Bodie. Much of the narrative is addressed to Mr. Bloch, a former teacher and music director at Granby. Why she does this we learn as the narrative progresses. First person is one of my favorite devices, probably because I read noir which frequently uses this voice. I like knowing only what the narrator knows, especially in this case, where Bodie finds herself having to re-evaluate her theories based on what is uncovered.

The author does several things that I thought were pretty cool. One is the quasi epistolary style of many of the chapters which adds an intriguing element to the story with the author keeping us guessing. Another is the way students are incorporated into the story. It isn’y heavy handed and Bodie give them just the right amount of nudging and giving them free rein to pursue their investigation. Having been involved in co-teaching college English classes, the students are very believable in their behavior, reactions, and enthusiasm.

This is a slow burner rather than a thriller, another approach I appreciate. With jump-backs to Bodie’s days as a misfit, out of place student and her student’s contemporary investigation, the book is nonetheless a page turner. Toward the end, the chapters get shorter which has the effect of increasing tension for the reader.

The author works in other issues: cancel culture and the fickleness of the public; the ethics of true crime reporting and the efects of such reporting on the people involved; rape culture; preditors taking advantage of the vulnerable.

Keywords: mysteries, podcasts, true crime, murder, boarding schools.