Michael Barnes
This is an evocative, challenging work that premises on our world which sees all animals infected with a virus that can kill humans and during a period called The Transition instead of everyone realising it’s the Vegetarians time to shine instead our civilization chooses 'New meat' of the Solent Green variety. The prose is clear and stark as befits such a consideration and with a brilliant translation from Agustina Bazterrica's Argentinian novel. The central character Marcos Tejo is the manager of one of these new meat processing plants. I found the discussion by him on how language has developed to separate the act of cannibalism (the 'product' categorised as 'special meat') how they never call the people being killed and eaten human instead, 'Heads'. Though Marcos understands the moral horror of his job supervising the workers who stun, kill, flay, and butcher other humans, he doesn’t feel much since the cot death of his infant son.
“One can get used to almost anything,” he muses, “except for the death of a child.”
But this is not a science fiction novel about what happens if we have to eat humans, this is an examination of what people and societies will do to normalise atrocities.
“After all, since the world began, we’ve been eating each other. If not symbolically, then we’ve been literally gorging on each other. The Transition has enabled us to be less hypocritical.”
This is an evocative, challenging work that premises on our world which sees all animals infected with a virus that can kill humans and during a period called The Transition instead of everyone realising it’s the Vegetarians time to shine instead our civilization chooses 'New meat' of the Solent Green variety. The prose is clear and stark as befits such a consideration and with a brilliant translation from Agustina Bazterrica's Argentinian novel. The central character Marcos Tejo is the manager of one of these new meat processing plants. I found the discussion by him on how language has developed to separate the act of cannibalism (the 'product' categorised as 'special meat') how they never call the people being killed and eaten human instead, 'Heads'. Though Marcos understands the moral horror of his job supervising the workers who stun, kill, flay, and butcher other humans, he doesn’t feel much since the cot death of his infant son.
“One can get used to almost anything,” he muses, “except for the death of a child.”
But this is not a science fiction novel about what happens if we have to eat humans, this is an examination of what people and societies will do to normalise atrocities.
“After all, since the world began, we’ve been eating each other. If not symbolically, then we’ve been literally gorging on each other. The Transition has enabled us to be less hypocritical.”