--- product_id: 179843724 title: "Tender Is the Flesh" price: "Rp495101" currency: IDR in_stock: true reviews_count: 13 url: https://www.desertcart.id/products/179843724-tender-is-the-flesh store_origin: ID region: Indonesia --- # Tender Is the Flesh **Price:** Rp495101 **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** Tender Is the Flesh - **How much does it cost?** Rp495101 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.id](https://www.desertcart.id/products/179843724-tender-is-the-flesh) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description THE RUNAWAY NATIONAL BESTSELLER AND INTERNATIONAL SENSATION 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. Review: This book is amazing - I've never been able to sit down and read an actual book for years because of my adhd. I turned to reading manga but I still wasn't satisfied. I heard about extreme horror from a friend and thought that maybe it'd help keep my eyes on the paper and stop my mind from wondering. It worked. I started my extreme horror journey with a book called COWS by Matthew Stokoe. I wrote a review on it as well—a review that was mostly negative. The book was definitely disturbing and disgusting but that's.. all it was. It was a nonstop carnival ride of gross scenes with no meaningful substance that made me start to hate the genre as a whole. It definitely kept my eyes on the paper, but not for any good reasons. Then I saw this book on instagram. I heard a description and thought, "a dystopia about cannibalism being the norm where the main character falls in love with his dinner? I'm sold." I started reading and needless to say I was hooked. ⚠️SPOILERS AHEAD⚠️ (I assume you already knew this though because you decided to read this review and well I have to talk about the plot to do so) (Premise) The author tells us we've been driven to cannibalism because of a disease that makes animals inedible to humans—BUT it's heavily implied that the whole thing could be a hoax made up by the government to combat overpopulation. I love how the author left it up for the reader to decide which one is true. (Plot) The plot is interesting. You'd think It'd just be a story about crazy cannibals but actually has a lot of substance compared to other works. The main character is actually a decent guy who recently lost his kid and wife. He ends up receiving a gift of a female that was supposed to be slaughtered and eaten. He instead falls in love with her and she ends up pregnant. He wants to make sure he doesn't lose his kid again—despite it being very illegal to sleep with a human who's meant to be slaughtered. (Characters) The main character is deep and complex and not a trope. If there's one thing I hate about reading is seeing trope characters. The main character feels like an actual person. He's angry, he's protective of what he loves, fragmented, burdened with grief, and detached. In one of the first few scenes of the book the author even hints at him disassociating while hearing his boss talk about the process of skinning humans and turning them into leather. I like that he isn't just a gross, weird, vulgar wannabe badass like many authors try to make their main characters in urban decay settings. (Themes) The book has themes of grief, disconnection, and powerlessness. The main character struggles with the death of his son, and his father later in the book. He even feels sour towards his sister for not caring about his father like he did. The kind of powerlessness he feels being surrounded by slaughter everyday with nothing he can do, all the while thinking that it all might not even be justified because the disease may not exist is frightening. (My favorite scene) The main character often visits an old abandoned zoo throughout the story. Since the "outbreak" happened people have been scared and kill any animal they see, so naturally zoos were shut down. The first time we see him go to this zoo, he makes his way to where the birds were kept. When he's there, he reflects on how his dad used to take him there as a kid to see the birds, and wishes he could've been able to take his son there to do the same. This scene was amazing, definitely punched me in the gut. I would add more detail but I realize it's something you should read yourself. (Conclusion) If you hate feel-good stories, can handle the grotesque, and want to read something that will have you glued until you reach the ending, then I highly recommend Tender is the Flesh. Review: Spoiler-ish? - I was debating giving it 3 stars, but decided on 4 because it was a “fun” read. It’s a bleak world that the protagonist finds himself in. The mental hoops that he and humanity have to jump through to justify its actions are believable. The way humans dissociate themselves from food and dehumanize each other feels especially topical and should be reflected upon more often as a whole. I feel the author brings up such subjects and likens them to human trafficking with out being TOO preachy, but somehow comes off hypocritical. I see what she was trying to get at, appreciate it, but feel like she missed the mark. (Honestly this may be a cultural or translation thing, too) I take issue with the science, such widespread cannibalism, no matter what precautions were taken, would bring about a host of diseases. I also can’t wrap my mind around the timeline. The transition seems to have happened quite fast (I know the world feels so much different now from a few years ago), but such a change in status quo feels like it would either be a very slow slip (if society were to remain intact) or would need to be a world recently rebuilt from the ashes of a great disaster (one greater than the explanation given). A rating of 3.5/5 or even 6.5 out of 10 would be closer to my view. Still worth a read. ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | Best Sellers Rank | #1,252 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #1 in Hispanic American Literature & Fiction #22 in Dystopian Fiction (Books) #122 in Literary Fiction (Books) | | Customer Reviews | 4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars (25,157) | | Dimensions | 5.5 x 0.6 x 8.38 inches | | ISBN-10 | 1982150920 | | ISBN-13 | 978-1982150921 | | Item Weight | 2.31 pounds | | Language | English | | Print length | 224 pages | | Publication date | August 4, 2020 | | Publisher | Scribner | ## Images ![Tender Is the Flesh - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71Bk5MzP8LL.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ This book is amazing *by K***L on November 22, 2025* I've never been able to sit down and read an actual book for years because of my adhd. I turned to reading manga but I still wasn't satisfied. I heard about extreme horror from a friend and thought that maybe it'd help keep my eyes on the paper and stop my mind from wondering. It worked. I started my extreme horror journey with a book called COWS by Matthew Stokoe. I wrote a review on it as well—a review that was mostly negative. The book was definitely disturbing and disgusting but that's.. all it was. It was a nonstop carnival ride of gross scenes with no meaningful substance that made me start to hate the genre as a whole. It definitely kept my eyes on the paper, but not for any good reasons. Then I saw this book on instagram. I heard a description and thought, "a dystopia about cannibalism being the norm where the main character falls in love with his dinner? I'm sold." I started reading and needless to say I was hooked. ⚠️SPOILERS AHEAD⚠️ (I assume you already knew this though because you decided to read this review and well I have to talk about the plot to do so) (Premise) The author tells us we've been driven to cannibalism because of a disease that makes animals inedible to humans—BUT it's heavily implied that the whole thing could be a hoax made up by the government to combat overpopulation. I love how the author left it up for the reader to decide which one is true. (Plot) The plot is interesting. You'd think It'd just be a story about crazy cannibals but actually has a lot of substance compared to other works. The main character is actually a decent guy who recently lost his kid and wife. He ends up receiving a gift of a female that was supposed to be slaughtered and eaten. He instead falls in love with her and she ends up pregnant. He wants to make sure he doesn't lose his kid again—despite it being very illegal to sleep with a human who's meant to be slaughtered. (Characters) The main character is deep and complex and not a trope. If there's one thing I hate about reading is seeing trope characters. The main character feels like an actual person. He's angry, he's protective of what he loves, fragmented, burdened with grief, and detached. In one of the first few scenes of the book the author even hints at him disassociating while hearing his boss talk about the process of skinning humans and turning them into leather. I like that he isn't just a gross, weird, vulgar wannabe badass like many authors try to make their main characters in urban decay settings. (Themes) The book has themes of grief, disconnection, and powerlessness. The main character struggles with the death of his son, and his father later in the book. He even feels sour towards his sister for not caring about his father like he did. The kind of powerlessness he feels being surrounded by slaughter everyday with nothing he can do, all the while thinking that it all might not even be justified because the disease may not exist is frightening. (My favorite scene) The main character often visits an old abandoned zoo throughout the story. Since the "outbreak" happened people have been scared and kill any animal they see, so naturally zoos were shut down. The first time we see him go to this zoo, he makes his way to where the birds were kept. When he's there, he reflects on how his dad used to take him there as a kid to see the birds, and wishes he could've been able to take his son there to do the same. This scene was amazing, definitely punched me in the gut. I would add more detail but I realize it's something you should read yourself. (Conclusion) If you hate feel-good stories, can handle the grotesque, and want to read something that will have you glued until you reach the ending, then I highly recommend Tender is the Flesh. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Spoiler-ish? *by E***R on February 20, 2026* I was debating giving it 3 stars, but decided on 4 because it was a “fun” read. It’s a bleak world that the protagonist finds himself in. The mental hoops that he and humanity have to jump through to justify its actions are believable. The way humans dissociate themselves from food and dehumanize each other feels especially topical and should be reflected upon more often as a whole. I feel the author brings up such subjects and likens them to human trafficking with out being TOO preachy, but somehow comes off hypocritical. I see what she was trying to get at, appreciate it, but feel like she missed the mark. (Honestly this may be a cultural or translation thing, too) I take issue with the science, such widespread cannibalism, no matter what precautions were taken, would bring about a host of diseases. I also can’t wrap my mind around the timeline. The transition seems to have happened quite fast (I know the world feels so much different now from a few years ago), but such a change in status quo feels like it would either be a very slow slip (if society were to remain intact) or would need to be a world recently rebuilt from the ashes of a great disaster (one greater than the explanation given). A rating of 3.5/5 or even 6.5 out of 10 would be closer to my view. Still worth a read. ### ⭐⭐⭐ Upsetting but pretty good *by W***N on April 17, 2026* This book will ruin your day, but it's an excellent read. The author writes very well and while the content is shocking, it doesn't feel like it's shocking for shock's sake. There's a real story here, and it's pretty compelling. I, like some of the other readers, have some trouble with a few things like 1. Even with all the measures they take in the novel, eating people would still come with severe side effects especially when done so frequently. (Kuru, for example) 2. They never really get into why veggies aren't an option - only vaguely saying that "scientists say there isn't enough protein" 3. I want to know more about the government depopulation conspiracies the transition stuff - that would have made the book a lot longer though, so I can see why he left it out. That being said - really great writing with a sad and disturbing ending. I really had hopes for Marco bringing about some kind of change but. ****SPOILER WARNING**** he just decides to use Jasmin as a personal breeder. Totally ruined my day haha. ## Frequently Bought Together - Tender Is the Flesh - I Who Have Never Known Men - A Certain Hunger --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.id/products/179843724-tender-is-the-flesh](https://www.desertcart.id/products/179843724-tender-is-the-flesh) --- *Product available on Desertcart Indonesia* *Store origin: ID* *Last updated: 2026-05-08*