Tender Is the Flesh Audiobook By Agustina Bazterrica cover art

Tender Is the Flesh

Preview

Get this deal Try for $0.00
Offer ends April 30, 2025 at 11:59PM PT.
Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 3 months. Cancel anytime.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Tender Is the Flesh

By: Agustina Bazterrica
Narrated by: Joseph Balderrama
Get this deal Try for $0.00

$14.95/mo. after 3 months. Offer ends April 30, 2025 11:59PM PT. Cancel anytime.

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $14.99

Buy for $14.99

Confirm purchase
Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.
Cancel

About this listen

Working at the local processing plant, Marcos is in the business of slaughtering humans - though no one calls them that anymore.

His wife has left him, his father is sinking into dementia, and Marcos tries not to think too hard about how he makes a living. After all, it happened so quickly. First, it was reported that an infectious virus has made all animal meat poisonous to humans. Then governments initiated the "Transition". Now, eating human meat - "special meat" - is legal. Marcos tries to stick to numbers, consignments, processing.

Then one day he's given a gift: a live specimen of the finest quality. Though he's aware that any form of personal contact is forbidden on pain of death, little by little he starts to treat her like a human being. And soon, he becomes tortured by what has been lost - and what might still be saved.

©2017 Agustina Bazterrica. English language translation ©2020 Pushkin Press Limited. Originally published in Argentina in 2017 by Alfaguara as Cadáver Exquisito. All rights reserved. (P)2020 Audible, Ltd. All rights reserved.
Dystopian Fiction Latino American Post-Apocalyptic Science Fiction United States World Literature Scary Suspenseful

Featured Article: The top 100 horror books of all time


This list encompasses the full spectrum of what horror can be—campfire-worthy tales, stomach-churning gore, and incisive social commentary. The classics are accounted for, but it also spotlights more recent titles, because that’s the nature of the genre—it is as perennial as it is ever-evolving, conjuring whatever frights most haunt our collective consciousness. Each title does have one thing in common: It makes for devilishly good listening. So cut the lights and press play—if you dare.

What listeners say about Tender Is the Flesh

Highly rated for:

Captivating Premise Thought-provoking Narrative Gripping Dystopian World Vivid Descriptions Unexpected Twist Ending
Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    2,405
  • 4 Stars
    999
  • 3 Stars
    451
  • 2 Stars
    193
  • 1 Stars
    131
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    2,757
  • 4 Stars
    609
  • 3 Stars
    212
  • 2 Stars
    61
  • 1 Stars
    58
Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    2,115
  • 4 Stars
    793
  • 3 Stars
    431
  • 2 Stars
    184
  • 1 Stars
    174

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

What a terrifying reality to be in

Oh boy! This was a lot, I didn’t joy it for the fact it delivered on shock factor. I definitely thought the story was going one way, and it ended in a totally different way. I don’t want to give away too much, but this story was disturbing yet very intriguing. I could not stop listening to it. I would definitely spend the credit, but again it is disturbing.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Interesting

The narrator did a great job, overall story was interesting but maybe I listen to too many horror stories I am a boy desensitized

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

whoa

This was not what i thought it was gonna be. Haunting but powerful. Not for weak stomachs

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Well I’m going vegan

Overall, horrifying read and it has genuinely caused me grief over my food choices. I haven’t been able to stomach meat since I started this book and I’m seriously considering veganism, That’s how gross this book is.
The performance is fantastic. Balderrama puts plenty of character in that you would otherwise not get from the physical book experience. Genuinely laughing when a character is making a joke, actually chewing and smacking his lips when a character is eating (which also adds to the overall horror and disgust of the characters’ culinary preferences) and pausing to compose himself when the character is emotional.

That being said, I wish the story elaborated more on why society was able to so quickly grow accustomed to eating humans. That is such a drastic thing to introduce to people and I was surprised that it was portrayed as such an easy and smooth transition. But I am able to suspend my disbelief for the sake of the rest of the book.

MILD SPOILERS
I was shocked by the ending and initially thought it was a completely out-of-character moment, but after some thinking I believe that this was the author commentating on how often a person can condemn something until it benefits them to join in on it.
I believe Jasmine’s role in the story could be viewed as a metaphor for how women and/or disabled people are viewed by society and the people who socially outrank them, more specifically men.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

A vegan it was interested to listen to

I’ve been vegan for 6 years and know all about the absolutely awful shit that animals go through in slaughter houses. I’ve often wondered how people would feel if this awful stuff was happening to human beings. This book was a look into a world like that- the humans were truly treated like cattle. In this fantasy world, it showed how far humans will go to have their “meat” rather than just change to a plant based diet (one area of the book I didn’t like- apparently doctors in this world said a plant based diet was unhealthy, although there were still vegans mentioned in the book). Besides this, it was shocking, disturbing, and extremely thought provoking. The main character Marcos was REALLY a piece of work though. Extremely hypocritical and I was left with ZERO respect for him, especially with the ending of this book.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Wow

I could not stop listening to this story. Disturbing, yes, horrifying, yes, and the narrator did an amazing job!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

mostly world building, not much story, not bad

not much plot, mostly describing the world. nothing super major happens. think "catcher in the rye" but with a depressed adult and a world of cannibals

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Disturbing and enjoyable

This is a really unique story with great parallelisms with real life. Do not get discouraged by the gruesome details. They are there for good reason.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent and disturbing

Many will not enjoy this book because of its themes and graphic depictions of cruelty and violence. However, it is excellently written and performed. I would recommend to anyone who enjoys extreme dystopian stories and unconventional horror.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Brilliantly Painful

Had to give it 4 stars because it viscerally hurt to read, the ending wrecked my life and I have never liked something so disturbing.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!