Review of Tender by Lauren Du Plessis

A folk-horror novel of botanical mystery and haunting beauty. Set in the Somerset fen, Nell is assisting the dig of three bog bodies. Flowers grow through their eye sockets as nature has nestled within the skeletons. No one knows how this has happened, but Nell is warned against calling it a ritual, witchcraft. But as the dig continues, Nell finds thistles blooming out of her skin. The doctor says it’s all imagined, it’s all in her head. Getting close to Gunner, the other botanist on sight, Nell tries to push away this darker side of herself which she masks with perfectly manicured nails and a pastel washed Instagram grid in order to find love and self acceptance. But it’s hard, as her mind is made of brambles and with memories resurfacing of a traumatic childhood event, she believes she may be cursed.

I thought the way Nell was dismissed by healthcare professionals and colleagues when she knew she was sick because they couldn’t see the flowers which grew through her skin was very reflective of many of women’s health issues being overlooked and not taken seriously. Most notably, how women’s issue are disregarded as being period problems, as the doctor told Nell her issues were just hormonal. 

Another way Nell was dismissed was in the professional sense when her superior shamed her for speaking her mind and going off instinct instead if evidence when discussing the dig publicly. As a young professional at the beginning of her career, Nell was deemed too inexperienced to make decisions and form her own judgements, and this is very true to any young person starting out in a career or wanting to build their professional integrity but feel as if years of experience holds them back or is a reason to not take them seriously. 

Tender is an examination of female rage and torment as well as the emotional excavation we undertake to understand ourselves and others. 

Reviewed by Victoria

Published on 25/09/25 by Influx Press

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