Title: The Unworthy by Augustina Bazterrica
Genre: Literary Horror
Pub Date: March 4, 2025
📖 188 pages

"Without faith, there is no refuge"

⭐️ 3.5/5
🩸 Feminist Horror
🪓 Dystopian World
🦷 Violent Religious Cult
🌊 Climate Crisis
✨️ LGBTQ+ Characters
⏳ Nonlinear Timeline

I liked the cult aspects of the Sisterhood, as well as the dystopian vibes of the world-building. I also loved Bazterrica's masterful depiction of horror elements, making the story truly unsettling. Unfortunately, I was disappointed by the pacing, as I felt the story started strong but quickly lost momentum. I know the vague flashbacks and hidden diary entries were supposed to build suspense, but much of the story felt unnecessarily evasive. Honestly, it left me feeling frustrated, confused, and disengaged. I was pleased, for the most part, by the ending, though it was bittersweet and it was a bit rushed.

This author is incredibly talented, and though this wasn't my favorite, it is still worth a read if you love her work and are looking for a book under 200 pages.

Thank you so much, Scribner and NetGalley, for the digital review copy. 🫶

⚠️ minor emetophobia, cult, abuse/torture, sexual content, SA (off-page)

This had a dark tone throughout that made you contemplate the dark side of humanity and what people are willing to do to each other. Definitely will stick in my head but I don;t know if I like that.

I can appreciate the concept of this story, and the author's clear mastery, but this book didn't quite draw me in. I think that being dropped into everything works sometimes, but I really wanted information about the world and the climate crisis, and how the nameless narrator finds themselves with the Sisterhood earlier in the story. I think I just felt a little unmoored, which definitely seemed like an intentional choice on the author's part but it just didn't work for me. I did like it, though, I was compelled through by the sheer weird of it all and I just wanted to know what the hell was going on, honestly.

The Unworthy by Agustina Bazterrica was an atmospheric take on a dystopian world. What worked great was that not everything was answered nor was everything clear which, encouraged you to ponder and reflect what you have read. The main character told a vivid story offering glimpses of a changing world and one that wasn’t for the faint of heart. Bazterrica weaves a beautiful tale in a world gone wrong and one that will leave you pondering your faith and questioning humanity. Thank you NetGalley and Scribner for allowing me to read the ARC!

This book will not be for everyone. It is thought-provoking, mysterious, and in many ways, uncomfortable to read. But I think that for those who have experience with religion, it will strike a dissonant chord that ultimately leaves the reader wanting more.

The Unworthy is set in a post-apocalyptic world, where there exists a convent called the House of the Sacred Sisterhood. The convent appears safe from the devastation of the outside world but operates under its own cultish regime, where women are divided into various sects and treated accordingly. The truth of what is happening, both inside the convent and out, is blurred and mysterious. Some of that truth is revealed by the end of the novel, via the main character's discoveries within the Sisterhood, but there are certainly more questions than answers left at the end.

As someone who grew up within religion and has deconstructed as an adult, I really enjoyed the overt metaphors for skepticism that were used throughout the book. It feels like the author wants us to ask ourselves the biggest questions of religion- what is the purpose of faith in a being that cannot be seen or heard or felt? Why must faith come at such high a price? How much are we willing to sacrifice to a deity or to a community? But I don't know that others who haven't experienced religious extremism will see those metaphors in the same way because they feel so specific.

The decision to keep the reader largely in the dark for many of the story's key plot points also makes this book challenging to review. I personally enjoyed the mystery of it all for the most part and didn't feel overly confused or lost, but I can totally see where things could just become too confusing to continue. Additionally, by the 50% marker, I definitely felt like all the descriptions & metaphors used were growing repetitive and bloated, which took away from the story. The book picks up again at the end, but I'm not sure whether in such a short novel there is really room for 25% of it to have the reader bored.

Final rating for me is 3.5 that I am rounding up to a 4! There were too many questionable literary devices & periods of time where I felt like the same information was being repeated in a different way for this to be a full four star rating. However, I found the book overall to be a really thought-provoking which I appreciate so much as a reader, I loved the dystopian setting and the cult aspect, and a lot about the story felt very original. I would absolutely recommend it to anyone who loves to read dystopian stories or who finds themselves fascinated by cults and religious extremism.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced reader copy!

I'm back again to review another Agustina Bazterrica story about collapsed human society at the beginning of a SECOND Trump administration. Someone please put me out of my misery... How does the timing keep lining up like this? Just kidding, it's not hard because I live in a country that is actively trying to shove itself headlong down the road to dystopia. I don't think for a second that it is anything more than a coincidence. It's just a coincidence that makes me feel vaguely uncomfortable.

The Unworthy might have unsettled me even more deeply than Tender is the Flesh, although the subject matter of Tender might outwardly feel more upsetting. I swear it isn't, and here's why:

The Unworthy has themes of religious nuttery (see America's despicable love affair with Evangelical Christianity - same shit, different outfits).

The Unworthy takes place in a world absolutely ravaged by climate change - the impacts of which linger decades after causing the collapse of modern society. I mean, look around you - we aren't doing so hot in that respect either.

I think this one hurts more because it seems even more plausible than Tender did. Religious extremism is a pretty constant issue around the world, and especially here in America where people use it to justify things like rape, murder, racism, sexism, child abuse, and genocide. And we are clearly battling with the reality of climate change every day. Even though some of us like to stuff our heads in the sand and deny that it's happening. And that everything is "normal" (they're delulu, obviously).

I found myself drawn to the narrator, who gives away information in bits and pieces as she cobbles together the secret story of her life - at least what little she remembers of it before arriving at the Sisterhood. She's the kind of protagonist I like best: a little mysterious, and morally fuzzy.

I loved The Unworthy. It scared me, compelled me, and made my skin crawl in the best possible way. I would have loved more. To expand more into the Sisterhood, the characters, the whole world, really.

*This review will post to my site on March 5, 2025*

A classic dystopian setting in the wake of climate disaster where the outside world is barren but inside the walls of a convent called the Sacred Sisterhood a group of women survive and strive to ascend to the ranks of the Enlightened. Our main character carefully and secretly makes a record of her life including the horrific and violent ongoings within the religious order in real time as well as the memories of her past and what brought her to the convent. It’s disturbing but also kind of beautiful and tenderhearted - a fantastic combo in my opinion.

I was not expecting to give this five stars. It took me a while to get into it, but once I did I devoured it and immediately had the urge to reread it.

Comes out March 4th. Thank you to NetGalley and Scribner for an eARC!

2.75 stars
This book had a lot of promise in its premise, but it just didn’t deliver. Due to the nature of the way this book is written (through essentially diary entries), the reader wasn’t really invited into the story, but rather was just being told it. Because of this, I had a hard time caring about what was happening and it all felt very repetitive.

Nothing really happens in the story until 70% of the way through the book and then it finally caught my interest. But that’s a little too late. And also due to the writing structure, it made the ending feel clunky and unbelievable.

Tender is the Flesh is one of my all-time favorite books, so this was a disappointment.

Thank you to NetGalley and Scribner for providing an ARC of this title.

Agustina Bazterrica brings us into another world of dystopian cruelty. I loved Tender is the Flesh for its bleak, cold prose and this delivers the same tone, but from a sister at a mysterious convent.

This book has little structure, but I feel that fits the weird amorphous world Bazterrica creates for us. I loved the religious overtones in this novel - this is not your typical Catholic convent, instead it is a new religion based on a bizarre and cruel hierarchy that delineates the 'unworthy' from the 'enlightened.' I loved how this concept was fleshed out, and the horrible imagery that was ethereal in the worst way

Man, okay so from the start I suspected a lot of the plot behind the cult, but honestly that wasn't even the focus, so there was no "haha this was supposed to be a surprise!" Instead all the surprises came from the between moments and the past reflections and suffering that characters endured to survive in a collapsed world.

I loved it a lot and it made me cry in parts.

One main TW that I know many people find difficult (outside of the expected body horror) is: death of a cat

In Bazterrica’s newest novel, we follow an unworthy’s story in a dystopian setting. Here, she navigates Superior Sister’s strict rules and reign in a covent after the world has collapsed. The hierarchy of their religious group is interesting, and Bazterrica does a wonderful job exploring power dynamics and structures. Why do some people (and not others) have power? How do they get power? Who is worthy? Why?

With Bazterrica’s Tender is the Flesh and Nineteen Claws and a Blackbird in mind, I was expecting this novel to deliver the same unflinching examination of humanity and the horrors associated with it and power. Bazterrica certainly delivered, echoing the body horror in Tender is the Flesh. The Unworthy is filled with body horror and violence, which, arguably, is an effective examination and critique of some organized religion. The novel reminded me of CJ Leede’s American Rapture, which also pairs horror with organized religion.

One part of the novel that I enjoyed is how it’s organized as a journal. It certainly added depth and unease to the narrator’s description of events. At the same time, though, I wish that the beginning was not as slow as it was, though I understand that it was probably structured that way to really provide the lay of the land. Overall, Bazterrica’s newest novel is a hit and I look forward to reading more of their work!

I liked this more than I thought I would -- at times it has a complex, nuanced emotional texture that is really pleasing. I found that the flashback sections and the episodes that broke the rhythm of life in this cult-convent were much more compelling than the rest of the material, which I think is because that's where the protagonist starts to become a real active character. Bazterrica's attempts to horrify and shock the reader with the physical, sexual, and emotional abuses being perpetrated in this end-of-the-world cult were pretty ineffective for me -- I think like most experienced readers I have the imagination to conjure this stuff on my own, and though her prose is good, without surprise there's not much horror. The "climactic" sequence is okay -- I preferred the earlier scenes of minor transgression where it seemed equally possible that the protagonist could get away with it or be captured. Overall I think this novel is hindered by the journal conceit -- it's already hard to believe the protagonist can get away to write at such length about her circumstances, and for me to really involve myself in the fates of these characters I think I would have needed to spend even more time with them.

Dark. Ominous. Disturbing. The Unworthy made me feel like I was unworthy of understanding what was going on until the end. And even then, I didn't hate it. (3.5 stars)

Disclaimer: I read The Unworthy via ebook from NetGalley. This is my honest and voluntary opinion and review.

There was a lot to like and plenty of opportunities to capitalize on them in this dark dystopian novella. It was mostly a series of hits, although there were some misses as well. I can absolutely see why this book will be for some people, and absolutely not for others.

First of all, you are thrown into a dark and desolate place that gives absolutely no context or worldbuilding, and you're expected just to go with it. Someone like myself might really enjoy that level of uncomfortability and confusion, but I know a lot of people would also like to know what's going on and will be unsettled and bewildered. There's opportunity to ascertain that the convent is clearly a product of climate devastation but it gives zero context as to why the world has become this way. I assume this was done to create an air of mystery or suspense, but since it's never resolved it kind of just felt like a missed opportunity to give more information and make this book even darker and more gruesome. I feel like it also missed an opportunity to be a cautionary tale of sorts and give more of a reason to be climate conscious.

This book gets dark fast. First paragraph takes you on a ride straight to the heebie jeebies. I physically cringed at the imagery. Which I'm sure was the desired result. Mission accomplished. It was done well and I quite enjoy that type of content so this was a hit for me. But one I can imagine some not enjoying.

There are several characters that are named throughout the story, but almost no context or background is given for any of these people. You were pretty much told explicitly whether or not they are "good" or "bad" to the narrator, and that is basically all you have to go off of as far as knowing what kind of person they are. You can scrape together bits, and pieces of context for the convent that these women are a part of, but almost no context for how it was created or how it operates. And I think this is because the narrator themselves does not know. It definitely does give a haunting and Gothic experience to the thought of the covenant.

While I can appreciate a novel that leaves you confused or an open ended ending that leaves you to think, I do feel like this was a little too far into the unknown. There should've been a little bit more world building and context around some of these things and it would've heightened the enjoyment and the relatability of the book. I also feel like it would've passed along a stronger message to some of the important conversations that were happening in this novel. Whether that be about climate devastation or women in religion.

But overall, I feel like this is pretty on par with this author's other books, and I did enjoy it for the most part despite its misgivings.

In a post apocalyptic future, where plants have died and trees have long since been replaced by metallic woods, there exists a zealous cult known as the House of the Sacred Sister.

In this cult, minor saints are mutilated, their eyes sewn shut, tongues cut out, or cochleas destroyed, so that their other senses might have a purer connection to God.

Though our protagonist cannot remember her life before this brutalist cult, she finds comfort in a journal kept in secret, written by the light of the moon through a crevice in her cell. Brutal, romantic, rebellious and affecting, Agustina Bazterrica lives up to the high bar standards she has set for herself with this new novel.

Thank you to Scribner for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Agustina Bazterrica's writing is beautiful and I think fans of literary horror will enjoy this book. I found this one lacked the world building that I loved in "Tender is the Flesh". We are dropped into this world that has been ravaged, and it took a little too long to reveal what was happening for my liking. I also didn't connect with the characters in this one the way I connected with Marcos in "Tender is the Flesh". I loved how this ended, but I didn't necessarily love the journey.

Thank you to Netgalley and Scribner for the advanced copy of this book.

3.5 rounded up to 4 stars.

if you're going into this expecting the sheer gruesome horror of tender is the flesh, you may want to look elsewhere. though this novella is horror, i found it to be relatively devoid of gore when i found tender is the flesh traumatic to the point it was nearly unreadable.

told in the form of diary entries, we're brought into the world of a religious sect. at first, it's easy to assume that it's just a convent, but we slowly start to learn the heirarchy of chosen vs. unworthy and all the in-betweens as well as a mysterious male leader that lingers behind a curtain to divvy out laws, prophecies, leaderships, and punishments.

the similarities to a convent end after that - mistakes are treated via tortures dreamed up by other convent members. needles through skin, sometimes death is even meted out.

one day, a girl appears outside. a big deal, because as we slowly learn, this convent exists on a desiccated, dying earth full of mutilated people and animals, poisonous rains, dying flora and fauna. and make no mistake - humanity was what made the earth this way.

with the new girl - renamed lucia - starts integrating herself into the convent, weird stuff starts happening and it's looking like lucia is more than she lets on.

i'd have loved to have rated this hire. i love novellas and feel as though the short length serves most of the stories told in novella form well. this is one of the rare cases where i feel as though we could have benefited from a full-length novel. ultimately, we didn't end up with a lot of answers for anything and the "twist" is something that most will probably see coming. still, it was a nice departure from the brutality of tender is the flesh and definitely a work that i prefer so much more.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC to review!
Rating (on a scale of 1 to 5, 5 being excellent)
Quality of writing: 4
Pace: 5
Plot development: 4
Characters: 4
Enjoyability: 4
Ease of Reading: 3

Overall rating: 4 out of 5

"The truth is changeable, it contracts, implodes, it's powerful like a bullet. And it can be lethal"

She did it again folks. An absolutely amazing second novel by Bazterrica. I debated quite hard whether I wanted to give it 4.5 or 5 stars because I am quite stingy with my 5 stars.

The book is written from the point of view of a woman who is keeping a secret diary. The entire book is read through her diary entries. I know that is already going to be a hit or miss for some people, but I absolutely adored that we got to see whether portions were scratched out and how entries would randomly stop for various reasons that were always noted in the next entry.

It gives readers an intimate look in the development and evolution of a woman who was indoctrinated into an extremist cult set in a dystopian era after the world has essential ended and is practically uninhabitable. Our narrator is obsessed with the idea of joining the Enlightened and wants nothing to do with the unworthy who are considered weaklings. However, when a stranger appears, the woman is forced to face her long forgotten past and reevaluate how she views/understands the religion she is apart of and the Enlightened that she has been so desperate to join.

If you are not a fan of books that leave the reader in the dark, then this will not be the book for you. Most questions are answered, but as it written like a diary our viewpoints are narrowed down to only what the narrator knows or feels and there are times where she states she doesn't want to write about something because it hurts too much. However, she does end up writing about it, but it does take a while to get to that point.

Something that I do wish we would see Bazterrica start to do in her novels is creating more multi-dimensional side/background characters. At times her characters do start to feel a little one dimensional if they aren't in the spotlight. Overall though, the way Bazterrica writes is something that always captivates me and I will continue to read anything that she produces.

The Unworthy is an entry point to Bazterrica's work for people who are interested, but were intimidated or put off by the content of Tender is the Flesh. Though, it is still a horror novel that is written by the same author, so being prepared for some mild gore and other genre standard warnings are in full affect.

Content warning for discussion of 🍇(grape) though it does not go into graphic detail, it is made obvious what is going on.

“You are she-wolves engendering poison, a battalion inseminated by perdition and atrocity, a sack of fetid putrefaction, a seedbed of disgraceful lucubrates. Unworthy, homicidal women.”

This book has been on my tbr since the translation was first announced, I cannot explain how ecstatic I was when I got the notification of being approved for this arc. Agustina Bazterrica is one of those authors who just never fails to deliver exactly what she sets out for in a book; The Unworthy being no exception.

Continuing to probe at the intersections of power, body autonomy, and ethics, Bazterrica now takes us into a religious convent of women set in an apocalyptic world. The Unworthy is a true look into the nature of what it means to be a woman in faith; where our bodies become the target of ideology and control, where complete and total submission is not only expected but required and enforced by all means necessary. Bazterrica’s writing style is one of my favorites; the way she can so effortlessly encapsulate the reader into the novel as if we are sitting alongside the narrator ourselves. This novel invoked a sense of unease that feels less like fiction and more like a reality.

The Unworthy is a true masterpiece and something that will linger in my mind for the foreseeable future. I cannot recommend this or any of Bazterrica’s other works enough. As always with horror novels, please check trigger warnings and read at your own discretion.

Thank you Scribner, Simon and Schuster, and Agustina Bazterrica for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Let me start by saying this is the first book I have read from Augustina Bazterrica so I didn’t really have an expectations. However, I was not prepared for her writing style in this book. I felt like I was just dropped in the middle of a wild dystopian setting with no immediate context explained whatsoever. The story felt a bit “choppy” and scattered throughout and it wasn’t until the 60% mark where it started picking up for the most part. I was confused and felt in the dark for most of the book but I thought all will be explained in the end. Unfortunately, I was unsatisfied and still not comprehending what I just read when I finished.

Thank you Augustina Bazterrica and NetGalley for the early opportunity of reading this book!