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Quick answer: If you finished Tender Is the Flesh, try Never Let Me Go, The Handmaid's Tale, The Memory Police, The Road, Fever Dream and The Girl with All the Gifts. They share dystopian dread and unsettling questions about what we accept.
Agustina Bazterrica's 2017 novel imagines a world where a virus makes animal meat inedible, and society turns to farming human beings for food. It is calm, cold and deeply disturbing. Readers who finish it often want more dystopian fiction that makes ordinary cruelty visible. These 15 books include similar horror, satire and literary dystopias. They contain disturbing content, including violence and cannibalism.
Table of Contents
Quick Picks at a Glance
| Book | Author | Ages | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Never Let Me Go | Kazuo Ishiguro | Adult | readers who like slow dread |
| The Handmaid's Tale | Margaret Atwood | Adult | readers who want the classic |
| The Memory Police | Yōko Ogawa | Adult | readers who like fables |
| The Road | Cormac McCarthy | Adult | readers who want bleakness |
| Fever Dream | Samanta Schweblin | Adult | readers who like short, strange novels |
| Things We Lost in the Fire | Mariana Enriquez | Adult | more Latin American horror |
| The Girl with All the Gifts | M.R. Carey | Adult | readers who like dystopian horror |
| The Power | Naomi Alderman | Adult | readers who like feminist dystopia |
| Oryx and Crake | Margaret Atwood | Adult | readers who like speculative satire |
| Brave New World | Aldous Huxley | Adult | readers who like ideas |
| Blindness | José Saramago | Adult | readers who like literary fiction |
| Severance | Ling Ma | Adult | readers who like satire |
| Chain-Gang All-Stars | Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah | Adult | readers who like social critique |
| Animal Farm | George Orwell | Adult | readers who want a short allegory |
| The Hunger Games | Suzanne Collins | YA | readers who want action |
1. Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
Kathy H. recalls a boarding school with a terrible secret about its students. Quiet, haunting and restrained.
Best for: readers who like slow dread.
2. The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
Offred lives as a handmaid in the theocracy of Gilead. The classic of dystopian control.
Best for: readers who want the classic.
3. The Memory Police by Yōko Ogawa
On an island, things vanish from memory, and the Memory Police enforce forgetting. Quiet and haunting.
Best for: readers who like fables.
4. The Road by Cormac McCarthy
A father and son walk through a burned America, avoiding cannibals. Stark and devastating.
Best for: readers who want bleakness.
5. Fever Dream by Samanta Schweblin
A woman lies dying in a rural Argentine clinic and talks to a boy. Short, hallucinatory and scary.
Best for: readers who like short, strange novels.
6. Things We Lost in the Fire by Mariana Enriquez
Short stories of ghosts, urban legends and fear in Buenos Aires. Sharp and unsettling.
Best for: more Latin American horror.
7. The Girl with All the Gifts by M.R. Carey
Melanie, a girl who is held in a cell and taught in a classroom, is not what she seems. A fresh zombie story.
Best for: readers who like dystopian horror.
8. The Power by Naomi Alderman
Girls develop the power to give electric shocks, and the balance of power shifts. Violent and thought-provoking.
Best for: readers who like feminist dystopia.
9. Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood
Snowman is the last human in a world remade by genetic engineering. Dark and clever.
Best for: readers who like speculative satire.
10. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
A society engineered for comfort hides its costs. Cool and chilling.
Best for: readers who like ideas.
11. Blindness by José Saramago
An epidemic of blindness leads to a breakdown of society. Dense, powerful and humane.
Best for: readers who like literary fiction.
12. Severance by Ling Ma
Candace keeps working in New York as a fever empties the city. Funny and bleak.
Best for: readers who like satire.
13. Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah
Prisoners fight in televised battles for a chance at freedom. Furious and satirical.
Best for: readers who like social critique.
14. Animal Farm by George Orwell
Animals revolt against their farmer and create a new tyranny. Short, clear and sharp.
Best for: readers who want a short allegory.
15. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Katniss takes her sister's place in a televised fight to the death. Fast and tense.
Best for: readers who want action.
How to Choose
For quiet horror, choose Never Let Me Go or The Memory Police. For a harsher read, pick The Road or Fever Dream. For social satire, read The Power, Severance or Chain-Gang All-Stars. For a short classic, try Animal Farm. All of these contain unsettling ideas, so take breaks. If you can handle only one book at a time, start with the quieter ones (Never Let Me Go, The Memory Police) before the harsher ones (The Road). After a heavy read, take a break with something light. If you like Latin American fiction, add Samanta Schweblin and Mariana Enriquez to your list.
Related: 15 Books Like Wings of Fire Kids Will Love: Dragons, Quests and Animal Adventures · 12 Dystopian Books Like the Hunger Games | Best Books to Read Like Hunger Games
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Tender Is the Flesh graphic?
Yes. It contains explicit scenes of slaughter and cannibalism.
Is it translated?
Yes. Sarah Moses translated it into English.
Is it a horror novel?
It is dystopian horror and a social satire of meat-eating and power.
What is the message?
Bazterrica has said the book critiques how societies justify violence and consumption.
Is this list for people who like horror?
Yes, but many books are literary and quiet rather than gory.
Are any of these good for book clubs?
Never Let Me Go, The Handmaid's Tale and Tender Is the Flesh all create strong discussions.