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Other Animals in Twenty-First Century Fiction pp 111–168Cite as

Palgrave Macmillan

Beautiful Flesh, Dismantled Bodies and Meaty Portions

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Part of the book series: Palgrave Studies in Animals and Literature ((PSAAL))

Abstract

This chapter focuses on other animals’ bodies as matter and symbol. It discusses the vulnerability of horseflesh to human carelessness and cruelty in Aryn Kyle’s The God of Animals, exploring objectionability and property as key animating principles in human–animal relationships, and difficulties around the term ‘rape’ when applied to animals. Yann Martel’s Beatrice and Virgil is read through the concepts of ‘narrative taxidermy’ and the ‘art of pain’, to consider painful comparisons between the Holocaust and industrial farming. Readings of Mark McNay’s Fresh consider the symbolism of meat, focusing on chicken processing, masculinity, and social marginalisation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of English and Journalism, University of Lincoln, Lincoln, UK

    Catherine Parry

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  1. Catherine Parry
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Correspondence to Catherine Parry .

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Parry, C. (2017). Beautiful Flesh, Dismantled Bodies and Meaty Portions. In: Other Animals in Twenty-First Century Fiction. Palgrave Studies in Animals and Literature. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-55932-2_4

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