Jack, the cover of Tender is the Flesh is referencing one of the most famous Spanish paintings in the world, Guernica by Pablo Picasso with the bull’s horns. Obviously, there’s some connections between the themes of the painting and the novel. The painting used to be housed at The Museum of Modern Art, but was returned to Spain.
Picasso stipulated in life and in his will that the painting not be given to Spain until it became a democracy. Ruled by Franco, he died 2 years after Picasso and the government did change. The US was still reluctant but finally gave it to Spain in 1981. I was lucky enough to have seen it a few times (I’m a New Yorker) before it was given away. I didn’t really know that part of its history and I thought it would always be there for my viewing. I sure miss it.
@@megancurtis9502 Me too! The dust jacket felt so disgusting and the worst thing was that when I took it off the hardcover underneath was THE SAME TEXTURE! I then read it as an ebook, no joke 😂
Jack, if you like multi-storied novels where all the characters converge at the end, The Overstory by Richard Powers is a beautiful novel about how multiple characters from around America find themselves drawn to an environmental protest in the West, but all for very different reasons. It’s a stunning environmental fiction novel about how nature interconnects us all
It is really nice to see you reading Mohsin Hamid. He is Pakistani author so seeing you read South Asian literature is simply heartwarming. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Tender is the flesh was the best book I read in 2021 and I still think about at least every couple of weeks. It has made such an impact on how I see human behaviour, which, as a psychologist, is very relevant for my daily life.
Here's a summary of Delicatessen: "Post-apocalyptic surrealist black comedy about the landlord of an apartment building who occasionally prepares a delicacy for his odd tenants."
I live in Austria and there’s an amazing online store, where I can buy most in print editions for pretty much every book. With free shipping and severe discounts as well
@@julialijesen2546 they're also Amazon owned btw. Better order them from Thalia, they have 17-25% off of English books about once a month too and you can get most every edition from anywhere in the world
Hey! Thought you may be interested in "The Cemetery of Forgotten Books" by Carlos Ruiz Zafón since you mentioned books with different stories connected to one another and are generally interested in translated fiction and books about books. The first book ("The Shadow of the Wind", which I thought was really good, but definitely has some flaws, especially its misogyny) is about the young son of a bookseller who gets entangled in a mystery about forgotten stories and a missing writer whose books are being stolen and burnt, whilst, around him, the scars of the civil war are still hurting. It actually makes an appearance in the video, next to "The Secret History" (2:56). I don't know if I'm selling it, but maybe give it a try. I really enjoy your videos, by the way! Thanks for making them.
Both of your channels are why I put myself on a Book Buying Ban... I have so many books and not nearly enough time to read all of them 😆 Love what you do, keep up the great work!
hi jack! i just wanted to say thank you for all of the videos you post and everything that you do :) i’ve been going through a pretty tough time recently and your videos always make me smile. have a great day :)
How high we go in the dark WRECKED me. It was so good and it’s telling if a collection of short stories can move you in that way. They were so perfectly connected
Love these videos about the covers! As someone that works as a cover designer I would love to see you credit the cover designers. Also in the states it’s super common to have gritty or sandy matte effects. I’m pretty sure that’s what you’re feeling 👍🏻
Ooh! A great example of a book which has lots of individual stories that reveal the bigger picture to the reader as you go along is the Hair Carpet Weavers by Andreas Eschbach. It's technically sci-fi but a bit more like black mirror/speculative. Despite a slightly questionable men-writing-women moment at the end, it was my favourite book of 2022, so good!
already watched the video, but saw your insta story and just thought I would say we will always watch your videos when they come out regardless of the time :)
How high we go in the dark destroyed me, I cried so hard... especially the theme park and the pig parts... but really all of them. I read it in April 2021, but I still think about it.
Honestly, thank goodness I live in Malaysia because we have both the UK and US versions of book covers here😂 (though the price range is so different here based from where they're published🥲)
This is the best birthday gift~~ Thank you, Jack~ I know it's not for me,😂 but I was contemplating having fun or preparing some notes for next week's classes. And you kind of gave me my answer.
Jack if you havent already you HAVE to read 'And the Mountains Echoed' by Khaled Hosseini - it's multiple short stories that join up to make one big one, emotionally devastating and as good as Khaled Hosseini's other books
What's your opinion on fantasy? Just curious because that's almost all that I read. Also, apparently World Book Day is often on April 23rd because many prominent authors (including Shakespeare) have died on that date. Which is funny because it's my birthday.
Very interested to hear what you thought of Tender Is The Flesh. I think I am in the minority of people of who gave a very low rating, but I'm curious to see what you think
I had such a hard time suspending my disbelief with Tender is the Flesh that it just didn't hit for me. But it is definitely thought provoking and I'm so curious to hear what you think of it
im curious to see how you feel about real life... i had very high expectations too and then it fell completely flat for me, but i've heard no one else say they didn't like it
The UK/EU cover for Tender is the Flesh reminds me of vulva art and idk if that's intentional or not. I haven't read it (yet), so I can't say if that association makes sense for the story or if that's just my brain being weird. But I also prefer the US cover, maybe because it's more obviously fitting with the story, idk.
I prefer the US edition for The Last White Man and Real Life. I like both for Tender is the Flesh, don't really have a preference. For How High We Go in the Dark, I prefer the US cover but find the UK cover gives me 'virus' vibes somehow.
I read this like is he being sarcastic ? 😂 I’m always jello of 🇬🇧 covers to the extent I’ve started ordering from Blackwell’s. That’s super cool though you’re able to get some off that list 📖🪱💚
Ahhh loved this video!😇🥰 Also, are you planning on doing a celeb video of Ben Barnes fav books? He's such a babe, great actor and also studied English lit aka the best combo ever! Bonus: his mum is a relationship psychotherapist (I believe) so he's literally a gem written by a woman in my opinion lol
For tender is the flesh I absolutely adore the Czech cover. Translation for the name is “znamenitá mrtvola” which is somewhat okay but the cover looks really cool imo
I think for the first book I actually prefer the UK cover, just resonates with me more for some reason, not exactly sure why. The last one… got to be the US cover although I see what the UK cover does
uk got done so dirty with the cloud cuckoo land cover compared to the US. you can get their edition in hardback but it’s £20 and i can never justify buying it when i’m in my town centre
When I saw the book "Tender is the flesh" I couldn't remember where I had seen or read about it before and when I did recall the first things I said were "Oh no. Oh no no no". My suggestion? Don't read it. Now maybe you shouldn't take it from me because I haven't really read it BUT I have seen its review by the booktuber withcindy where she basically explains the whole story. I, for one, think it's incredibly dumb. But maybe it is because I'm not a fan of dubious consent and books with no point what-so-ever and just being like "Oh all humans are bad and world is cruel and nothing can be done about it because that's just how things are." *SPOILER:* Basically humans eat other humans because... stuff. There is like a social hierarchy where the ones that eat other humans live like everyday humans and the ones that are eaten are not even treated as humans. They are treated like animals. They can't even speak and know nothing of the "human world". So the main character is someone who slaughters those humans. somebody dropped off a female specimen to the guy's place and he can't manage himself to kill her so instead he tries to keep her and do something that you're not supposed to do, which is to treat a livestock like a human being. Now the female specimen is very scared, she doesn't know what's going on, she can't even speak She was literally made as livestock. For a while the guy's taking care of her but then at the halfway point of the book, and this is where I started hating it, he decides to have sex with her. Now, SHE CAN'T CONSENT. That's basically raping her. And how are you having sex with someone whom you are raising like a child? Wouldn't it make more sense to develop a father-child kind of relationship? Later on, she becomes pregnant and towards the end of the story she's giving birth. The main guy finally sits next to the livestock who's still reaching out for the baby but he's like "everything's gonna be just fine, take it easy" and then it says: "When she calms down a little, he stands up and grabs her by the hair. Jasmine, now only able to move her hands, is trying to reach her. She wants to speak, to scream, but there are no sounds. He picks up the club he brought from the kitchen and hits her on the forehead right where she's been branded. Jasmine falls to the floor, stunned, unconscious. Cecilia (his ex-wife) jumps when she hears the thud, and looks at him without understanding. "Why?" she yells. "She could have given us more children." As he directs the body of the female to the barn to slaughter it, he says to Cecilia, "She had the human look of a domesticated animal." And that's so stupid. Like what was the fucking point? If he did kill her at the end, why couldn't he do so at the beginning? It doesn't help AT ALL that he treated her like a child, earned her trust, raped her, she gave birth and doesn't even get to hold her child, and then killed her. The ending does nothing other than shock value. Quoting withcindy's channel, "I think it's more courageous and more difficult to see that something is wrong or like, disagree with how society is run and then change your position on something and then like, stick through it. I think that would have been a greater message than like, oh humans are the same. It is much harder to write actual character development than to just write a twist of being like, oh look, he's still the same person." And this is the end of the longest comment I ever wrote.
Mohsin Hamid - the surname is pronounced with the emphasis on the second syllable, i.e. Ha-MID, not HA-mid, and the 'i' is a subtle 'ee' sound, i.e. 'Ha-MEED'.
![ЛЕБЕДЕВ у ДУДЯ: муху не обманешь 😁 [Пародия]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/E74h5fvVrqs/mqdefault.jpg)
Video idea: Ask the clerk /cashier what book they recommend at all the nearby stores and then rank them/read them (if you haven’t already) !
We all agree 👍 💯
as a bookseller, can confirm we love this!
Yes please ❤❤❤
Jack, the cover of Tender is the Flesh is referencing one of the most famous Spanish paintings in the world, Guernica by Pablo Picasso with the bull’s horns. Obviously, there’s some connections between the themes of the painting and the novel. The painting used to be housed at The Museum of Modern Art, but was returned to Spain.
Picasso stipulated in life and in his will that the painting not be given to Spain until it became a democracy. Ruled by Franco, he died 2 years after Picasso and the government did change. The US was still reluctant but finally gave it to Spain in 1981.
I was lucky enough to have seen it a few times (I’m a New Yorker) before it was given away. I didn’t really know that part of its history and I thought it would always be there for my viewing. I sure miss it.
Good to know Michael, I was envisioning Pasiphae from Greek mythology. I like your explanation much better!
Nice to see Jack celebrating his English Heritage by celebrating World Book Day.
Jack really spoke to the Neurodivergents with the whole book’s texture discourse.
Yes!! Newer book feel sandy? I think it's the attempt at making them matte.
Yes! I had a book that felt very waxy like a bare crayon once and I could not hold it without feeling pure rage 😂
@@megancurtis9502 Me too! Those are terrible 😖
@@megancurtis9502 Me too! The dust jacket felt so disgusting and the worst thing was that when I took it off the hardcover underneath was THE SAME TEXTURE! I then read it as an ebook, no joke 😂
Jack, if you like multi-storied novels where all the characters converge at the end, The Overstory by Richard Powers is a beautiful novel about how multiple characters from around America find themselves drawn to an environmental protest in the West, but all for very different reasons. It’s a stunning environmental fiction novel about how nature interconnects us all
woahh sounds super interesting, maybe ill take a look at it too ohohoho
Happy World Book Day is basically St. Patrick’s Day on this channel but instead of drinking, it’s being overwhelmed with books.
It is really nice to see you reading Mohsin Hamid. He is Pakistani author so seeing you read South Asian literature is simply heartwarming. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Tender is the flesh was the best book I read in 2021 and I still think about at least every couple of weeks. It has made such an impact on how I see human behaviour, which, as a psychologist, is very relevant for my daily life.
Have you seen the French movie Delicatessen? I haven't read Tender is the Flesh but I'm curious how much overlap there is.
Here's a summary of Delicatessen:
"Post-apocalyptic surrealist black comedy about the landlord of an apartment building who occasionally prepares a delicacy for his odd tenants."
Interesting!! I thought it was just okay! Especially after I learned it was written by a vegan lol
@@trybeinggr8239 I haven't read it, but thanks for putting it on my radar! I will for sure check it out:)
Funny, I live in the U.S. and will sometimes order from Amazon UK because I prefer the UK covers
I live in Austria and there’s an amazing online store, where I can buy most in print editions for pretty much every book. With free shipping and severe discounts as well
@@RODAROLADA care to share?
@@KenzieWoods I think they mean Book Depository, but I could be mistaken
@@KenzieWoods @RODAROLADA i second this !! vielen dank & liebe grüße
@@julialijesen2546 they're also Amazon owned btw. Better order them from Thalia, they have 17-25% off of English books about once a month too and you can get most every edition from anywhere in the world
Hey! Thought you may be interested in "The Cemetery of Forgotten Books" by Carlos Ruiz Zafón since you mentioned books with different stories connected to one another and are generally interested in translated fiction and books about books.
The first book ("The Shadow of the Wind", which I thought was really good, but definitely has some flaws, especially its misogyny) is about the young son of a bookseller who gets entangled in a mystery about forgotten stories and a missing writer whose books are being stolen and burnt, whilst, around him, the scars of the civil war are still hurting. It actually makes an appearance in the video, next to "The Secret History" (2:56).
I don't know if I'm selling it, but maybe give it a try.
I really enjoy your videos, by the way! Thanks for making them.
As an elementary teacher in the US, I’d like to inform you that March is Read Across America month ✌🏼 keep buying books this month lol
Both of your channels are why I put myself on a Book Buying Ban... I have so many books and not nearly enough time to read all of them 😆 Love what you do, keep up the great work!
hi jack! i just wanted to say thank you for all of the videos you post and everything that you do :) i’ve been going through a pretty tough time recently and your videos always make me smile. have a great day :)
you got this mason!!
@@seallofapproval aww thanks so much :)
How high we go in the dark WRECKED me. It was so good and it’s telling if a collection of short stories can move you in that way. They were so perfectly connected
Jack, you are a gem on UA-cam. Love that you have two channels because I can not get enough book content!
Love these videos about the covers! As someone that works as a cover designer I would love to see you credit the cover designers.
Also in the states it’s super common to have gritty or sandy matte effects. I’m pretty sure that’s what you’re feeling 👍🏻
can't wait to hear your opinions on Tender Is The Flesh! I much prefer the US cover than the UK ones
Gorgeous library love it ❤
1:58 The covers are beautiful! I never knew there was a new cover for ‘The Namesake’.
I can't wait for your thoughts on TENDER IN FLESH. Its honestly one of my favourite books
How High We Go In The Dark is a fantastic book! I enjoyed the audiobook version, each section is by a different actor, really brings it to life.
Ooh! A great example of a book which has lots of individual stories that reveal the bigger picture to the reader as you go along is the Hair Carpet Weavers by Andreas Eschbach. It's technically sci-fi but a bit more like black mirror/speculative. Despite a slightly questionable men-writing-women moment at the end, it was my favourite book of 2022, so good!
already watched the video, but saw your insta story and just thought I would say we will always watch your videos when they come out regardless of the time :)
Tender is the Flesh is so good i love it 😍
New upload saving Monday for me ❤️
not me searching every bookshop I can to find a cover of ‘A Little Life’ thats not a screaming person
oooh can't wait to see what you think of Tender is The Flesh! I really liked it but I know some people don't :(
You deserve to celebrate it today and buy tons of amazing books celebrate your holiday 😊
Saw your IG ppst, but it's actually morning in the Philippines! Haha! So, this is just a perfect upload. Haha!
I read Brandon Taylor’s “Filthy Animals” and looooved it so I am excited to here your thoughts about his long form work
Amazing books Jack hope you enjoy them 😊
TENDER IS THE FLESH IS SO FREAKIN GOOD
I've read The Last White Man and can't wait to hear what you think of it!
‘How High We Go In The Dark’ is so cool! 👏🏽
how high we go in the dark!!!! soooooo good, one of my favs of 2022. I can't wait to see what you think
Hats off to the most famous booktuber who for some reason does not have an actual bookshelf😅
I literally went to Barnes and Nobles for the first time today, since I lived in Canada. It was heaven on earth 🤧
Literally! Indigo isn’t even close to Barnes
How high we go in the dark destroyed me, I cried so hard... especially the theme park and the pig parts... but really all of them. I read it in April 2021, but I still think about it.
Honestly, thank goodness I live in Malaysia because we have both the UK and US versions of book covers here😂 (though the price range is so different here based from where they're published🥲)
love your videos you are amazing ❤️
matte covers, maybe? i don't know why, but i gravitate towards them more than i do to shiny covers!
3:49 I like the UK version because it’s a beautiful retro-adjacent font.
I appreciate that some of the words on the cover of Tender is the Flesh look like a cattle brand. The book is not perfect but definitely worth reading
Thankyou for this accidental surprise upload Jack, we needed this
ah, this was just the antidote I needed for my sunday scaries.
Tender is the flesh was a hard read for me, but how interesting was it too, you have to read it
When staying up all night paid off for once in my whole darn life 😂😂😂
This is the best birthday gift~~ Thank you, Jack~ I know it's not for me,😂 but I was contemplating having fun or preparing some notes for next week's classes. And you kind of gave me my answer.
Jack if you havent already you HAVE to read 'And the Mountains Echoed' by Khaled Hosseini - it's multiple short stories that join up to make one big one, emotionally devastating and as good as Khaled Hosseini's other books
It was National book week in the Netherlands last week! We get an entire week haha
I recommend you the book "The Hour of the Star" by Clarisse Lispector. I think it fits your taste in books :)
I finished a Real Life a few days ago and i am STILL thinking about it! What an excellent read!
Im reading tender is flesh for my spanish literature class and it is so disturbing yet good
SO EXCITED! 😊
i love the uk version of tender is the flesh! i’ve been holding off on buying because i prefer that one
and the uk of real life 😍😍 looks like i need to move to the uk lol
Just had to say, in the vein of small stories that add up to a whole, Let the Great World Spin is one of my very favorites that no one talks about!!
What's your opinion on fantasy? Just curious because that's almost all that I read.
Also, apparently World Book Day is often on April 23rd because many prominent authors (including Shakespeare) have died on that date. Which is funny because it's my birthday.
I wonder why there are different covers in different countries, is it copyright?
Very interested to hear what you thought of Tender Is The Flesh. I think I am in the minority of people of who gave a very low rating, but I'm curious to see what you think
Despite my former comment, I DO agree regarding these particular covers andddd about the 🇺🇸 ones textured / 🇬🇧 ones smooth
completely besides the point but what are they doing to murakami book covers 😭 they’re giving pinterest 2016
strong agree!
In the netherlands we Just have a whole book week going on right know.
Real Life is one of my favorite books, especially about science academia ❤
I had such a hard time suspending my disbelief with Tender is the Flesh that it just didn't hit for me. But it is definitely thought provoking and I'm so curious to hear what you think of it
im curious to see how you feel about real life... i had very high expectations too and then it fell completely flat for me, but i've heard no one else say they didn't like it
It's in April in Germany
The UK/EU cover for Tender is the Flesh reminds me of vulva art and idk if that's intentional or not. I haven't read it (yet), so I can't say if that association makes sense for the story or if that's just my brain being weird. But I also prefer the US cover, maybe because it's more obviously fitting with the story, idk.
8:52 The covers have a matte finish!
I prefer the US edition for The Last White Man and Real Life. I like both for Tender is the Flesh, don't really have a preference. For How High We Go in the Dark, I prefer the US cover but find the UK cover gives me 'virus' vibes somehow.
I read this like is he being sarcastic ? 😂 I’m always jello of 🇬🇧 covers to the extent I’ve started ordering from Blackwell’s. That’s super cool though you’re able to get some off that list 📖🪱💚
In my opinion the Czech version of 'Tender is the flesh' is the one with the most impact.
Since I am going to England for three weeks from the US, could you also make the UK version of this video? 😅
Ahhh loved this video!😇🥰 Also, are you planning on doing a celeb video of Ben Barnes fav books? He's such a babe, great actor and also studied English lit aka the best combo ever!
Bonus: his mum is a relationship psychotherapist (I believe) so he's literally a gem written by a woman in my opinion lol
The UK edition of The Last White Man is giving 🤔 hmm ✨ absolutely nothing ✨ lol
i had no idea world book day was on my birthday... how have i went this long without knowing.
I recently saw the Brazilian edition of Tender is the flash. It was even better, in my opinion, then the US one
As a non-english person I'm curious. Does the content in american/british edition change? Maybe some words or phrases??
No
For tender is the flesh I absolutely adore the Czech cover. Translation for the name is “znamenitá mrtvola” which is somewhat okay but the cover looks really cool imo
I think for the first book I actually prefer the UK cover, just resonates with me more for some reason, not exactly sure why. The last one… got to be the US cover although I see what the UK cover does
uk got done so dirty with the cloud cuckoo land cover compared to the US. you can get their edition in hardback but it’s £20 and i can never justify buying it when i’m in my town centre
Yesss !
i loved real life by brandon taylor!!! enjoy!
Oh ! To be in NY or to have enough money to buy books just cause….
When I saw the book "Tender is the flesh" I couldn't remember where I had seen or read about it before and when I did recall the first things I said were "Oh no. Oh no no no". My suggestion? Don't read it.
Now maybe you shouldn't take it from me because I haven't really read it BUT I have seen its review by the booktuber withcindy where she basically explains the whole story. I, for one, think it's incredibly dumb. But maybe it is because I'm not a fan of dubious consent and books with no point what-so-ever and just being like "Oh all humans are bad and world is cruel and nothing can be done about it because that's just how things are."
*SPOILER:*
Basically humans eat other humans because... stuff. There is like a social hierarchy where the ones that eat other humans live like everyday humans and the ones that are eaten are not even treated as humans. They are treated like animals. They can't even speak and know nothing of the "human world".
So the main character is someone who slaughters those humans. somebody dropped off a female specimen to the guy's place and he can't manage himself to kill her so instead he tries to keep her
and do something that you're not supposed to do, which is to treat a livestock like a
human being. Now the female specimen is very scared, she doesn't know what's going
on, she can't even speak She was literally made as livestock.
For a while the guy's taking care of her but then at the halfway point of the book, and this is where I started hating it, he decides to have sex with her. Now, SHE CAN'T CONSENT. That's basically raping her. And how are you having sex with someone whom you are raising like a child? Wouldn't it make more sense to develop a father-child kind of relationship?
Later on, she becomes pregnant and towards the end of the story she's giving birth. The main guy finally sits next to the livestock who's still reaching out for the baby but he's like "everything's gonna be just fine, take it easy" and then it says: "When she calms down a little, he stands up and grabs her by the hair. Jasmine, now only able to move her hands, is trying to reach her. She wants to speak, to scream, but there are no sounds. He picks up the club he brought from the kitchen and hits her on the forehead right where she's been branded. Jasmine falls to the floor, stunned, unconscious. Cecilia (his ex-wife) jumps when she hears the thud, and looks at him without understanding. "Why?" she yells. "She could have given us more children." As he directs the body of the female to the barn to slaughter it, he says to Cecilia, "She had the human look of a domesticated animal."
And that's so stupid. Like what was the fucking point? If he did kill her at the end, why couldn't he do so at the beginning? It doesn't help AT ALL that he treated her like a child, earned her trust, raped her, she gave birth and doesn't even get to hold her child, and then killed her. The ending does nothing other than shock value.
Quoting withcindy's channel, "I think it's more courageous and more difficult to see that something is wrong or like, disagree with how society is run and then change your position on something and then like, stick through it. I think that would have been a greater message than like, oh humans are the same. It is much harder to write actual character development than to just write a twist of being like, oh look, he's still the same person."
And this is the end of the longest comment I ever wrote.
Love the covers, generally I find that I prefer UK covers but honestly US is really upping their game
I prefer the US edition and UK ❤
It was my half birthday a few days ago, so of course I used that as an excuse to buy myself some books
Jack How Long Are You In The NYC For? Excellent Job On The Videos As Always. I Do The Same Thing.🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Superb books👍
His pronunciation of Mohsin Hamid 😂😂
He said Moshin
Tender is the flesh 🫢🫢🫢 insane book
Is it common for the UK versions of books to just be mostly text? That’s unfortunate if so.
Mohsin Hamid - the surname is pronounced with the emphasis on the second syllable, i.e. Ha-MID, not HA-mid, and the 'i' is a subtle 'ee' sound, i.e. 'Ha-MEED'.
Day five of asking Jack to post the "all the books I read in 2022" Video 😢
Omg I’ve never been this early 🥺
Also I love you Jack!
To be young and in love in New York City 😍
so in mohsin how did h coming before s give you the idea that it's sh? it's pronounced exactly, well almost exactly as it's spelled moh-sin
How high we go in the dark - well you have said in the past you like books that will make you cry... enjoy
uk vintage letters to milena cover is crazy
I’m in the US but I got the UK cover of the last white man