🔖 Recent Reads: Cadaver Exquisito

Sometimes when I watch book videos I listen to people saying the have read a very disturbing book, that they had to stop reading for a while cuz it was too much, that they don't recommend reading them before bed cuz they'll give you nightmares and, I kinda wanted to find something like that. 

Two of my students recommended this one, actually, one of those students was the one who lent me the book. And I also watched 2 videos including it in their "most disturbing books" so, that was my sign, I had to read it. 

Cadaver Exquisito (Tender Is the Flesh) is a book written by the Argentinian author, Agustina Bazterrica, the story is set in Buenos Aires in a distopian world in which cannibalism became legal after this kind of pandemic affected all animals and made it dangerous for humans to eat their meat.

"The sudden appearance of a lethal virus that attacks animals irreversibly alters the world: from wild beasts to pets, all must be systematically slaughtered, and their meat can no longer be consumed. Governments confront the situation with a drastic decision: legalizing the breeding, reproduction, slaughter, and processing of human flesh.

Cannibalism is the law, and society has been divided into two groups: those who eat and those who are eaten.

Marcos Tejo, general manager of the Krieg meatpacking plant, is an obscure bureaucrat. The day he receives a woman raised for consumption as a gift, temptations transform him into a dangerous conscience with sinister undertones that will lead him to transgress the rules to limits unknown to society.

In this ruthless dystopia, as brutal as it is subtle, as allegorical as it is realistic, Bazterrica inspires, with the explosive power of fiction, highly relevant debates."

I finished this book in 2 weeks, which is really fast for me, it is not a thick book and chapters are short so, it was easy to read more and more but still, it's a record! Haha. 

It's a very raw and explicit book that talks about topics that could be triggering for many people like sex, loss, gore, animal and human abuse and, of course, cannibalism so, I'd suggest checking the trigger warnings if you feel like reading it.

Even tho it shows an imaginary reality, and how difficult it could be for some to adapt to it, it perfectly captures how humans can take advantage of any situation, no matter how bad or twisted it is to fulfill their own desires. Even Marco, the main character, gives us a big plot twist that makes you change the way you see him.

I wanna take a moment to appreciate my cool bookmark. I think I showed it in another post when I got it, but I wasn't using it as what it is until now. I got it at a Japanese event and it's 3D printed. I love it!

I don't know if I'm just very desensitized to many things now or if something is very wrong with me (lol) but, I didn't find it difficult to read and it didn't traumatize me. The only two things that got me were the animal abuse part, I can't stand it, thankfully wasn't that expicit or long and, of course, loss. I'm still very emotional when it comes to people losing a parent so, yeah. That almost made me cry.

I honestly loved this book, I think it'd make a difficult to watch, but great movie. The end felt a little incomplete tho. Personally, I wanted to know what happened later. Plus there were other things I wish had a closure somehow but, it's defo one of the best books I've read so far. It was really good in the worst way possible. 

See you next time~!💋