Everytime I read Agustina's books I feel gross afterwards. However, I think thats the point of them. This one is no different from Tender is the Flesh in that feeling. Religious horror, cults, and just icky feelings. With all that being said, the book was definitely fun. I'd recommend it to anyone who is deeper into the horror genre.

The Unworthy explores climate disaster/dystopian, religions and cults preying on the desperate, female desire, body mutilations and physical abuse, sexual violence against women. There is a bit of non-linear storytelling where the protagonist ping pongs from the present to the past without much differentiation, but once you realize that it's not hard to understand.

I really need to read this author's other works.

**Review for *The Unworthy* by Agustina Bazterrica**

Agustina Bazterrica's *The Unworthy* is a searing, thought-provoking work of literary horror that builds on the author’s knack for disturbing, uncomfortable narratives, as showcased in her previous novel *Tender Is the Flesh*. In this chilling exploration of power, survival, and self-identity, Bazterrica weaves a dystopian tale that is as horrifying as it is hauntingly relevant, drawing sharp lines between ideological extremism, environmental collapse, and the dangerous allure of religious dogma.

Set in a world on the brink of ecological collapse, *The Unworthy* follows the life of an unnamed woman who resides in a secretive convent, cut off from the chaos that has consumed the outside world. The once-thriving cities have been submerged by water, electricity and the internet are non-existent, and survivors are left to scavenge in a brutal, unforgiving environment. Within the convent walls, the narrator is a "lower" member of the Sacred Sisterhood, an "unworthy" who dreams of ascension to the ranks of the Enlightened, the elite and revered women within the order. Her days are filled with strict obedience, isolation, and harsh punishment, yet she remains detached from the horrors outside and content with her place in this mysterious, self-contained world.

But the peace of her monotonous existence is shattered when a stranger enters the convent—another "unworthy" who makes the narrator confront long-forgotten memories about her past. As their bond grows, the narrator starts questioning the nature of her reality, the true purpose of the Sacred Sisterhood, and the enigmatic leader, the Superior Sister. She begins to unravel the disturbing mysteries of her life inside the convent, including her strange memory loss and what happens to the women who ascend to the Enlightened. The truth about her past—and the oppressive, violent systems that have shaped her existence—becomes more horrifying the closer she gets to it.

The atmosphere in *The Unworthy* is suffocating, and the tension between the narrator’s longing for elevation and the grim reality of her life creates an oppressive weight throughout the novel. The convent itself is a place where survival is not just about staying alive—it’s about adhering to an oppressive, controlling ideology that prizes submission and purity above all. Bazterrica’s prose is visceral, often bordering on grotesque, but it serves to amplify the horror of the narrator’s journey. The narrative is filled with unsettling moments that blur the line between physical and psychological horror, forcing readers to reflect on the ways in which systems of control manipulate the mind and body.

The central theme of *The Unworthy* is a deep exploration of the human desire for belonging, control, and meaning—concepts that can be twisted into something dangerous and dehumanizing. Bazterrica challenges us to think about the ways in which societal and environmental collapse can breed extreme ideologies and how these ideologies prey on our vulnerabilities. The portrayal of the climate crisis is also strikingly prescient; the novel reflects a world that has been ravaged by environmental neglect, where the physical collapse of society mirrors the spiritual and ideological collapse of the Sacred Sisterhood.

The characters in *The Unworthy* are complex, and the narrator's development—from an obedient, isolated woman to one who dares to question and seek the truth—is both tragic and empowering. Her relationship with the stranger, the other unworthy woman who forces her to confront uncomfortable truths, becomes the emotional heart of the novel. The evolving bond between them reveals layers of trauma, hope, and betrayal, highlighting the narrator's internal struggle between loyalty to the oppressive system and her growing desire for freedom and understanding.

Overall, *The Unworthy* is a dark, feminist horror novel that challenges readers to examine not only the collapse of the world around us but the darker recesses of our own psyche. Bazterrica masterfully blends existential horror with social commentary, creating a gripping narrative that questions the cost of survival, the price of ascension, and the destructive power of belief. If you’re looking for a deeply unsettling, intellectually stimulating read, *The Unworthy* is a must.

Quickly entering favorite author stays. Bought a copy on release for my home library. Can’t wait to see what’s next.

Bazterrica creates a whole world and then drops the reader right in. There are no introductions to the rules or hierarchy, you're just expected to catch up. This is a haunting story about the willingness to do anything to survive. This is written as diary entries and because of that, it can be alittle hard to follow sometimes. The main character would reveal something and then explain later. There were a few times I had to flip back a few pages to make sure I didn't misread something. Overall, I really liked it.

This feminist literary horror novel is bleak and thought-provoking and I loved it. The Unworthy is a post-apocalyptic story written through the protagonist’s journal entries as she navigates her life within and before the Sacred Sisterhood. Set during a time after climate collapse, The Unworthy describes the harrowing extremes of the human experience and displays the brutal representations of religion in this converted monastery. There is so much to take away from Agustina Bazterrica’s gorgeously poetic prose in this chilling novel.

The Unworthy is not nearly as viscerally gross as Bazterrica’s international breakout hit, Tender Is the Flesh. Then again, that book includes detailed descriptions of state-sanctioned cannibalism, so the bar is high. While The Unworthy is not quite as disgusting, it’s just as intense. Bazterrica never shies away from disgust, violence, or shock. Imagine all the worst ways that people can treat each other and the world, and they’re all probably in this book, from the smallest emotional slight to actual physical torture and damage. Worst of all, a lot of it takes place between the survivors, who are passionate young women who not only think they’re the good guys, but use the language of holiness and purity to do really rancid things. It takes the arrival of a non-compliant newcomer to shake things up—at great consequence to themselves. We start in a quietly horrifying, slightly confusing place, and Bazterrica’s prose (and Sarah Moses’ wonderful translation) gives us hundreds of creepy little details that make things worse the more you think about them.

Storygraph:
Climate change has wreaked havoc on the world, creating a dystopian setting for this story of a sisterhood that has sought refuge in an abandoned monastery. When one thinks sisterhood "peace" is generally a word that would come to mind quickly, but in this story, much like the world we live in now, woman, too, can become power hungry.

This was a story that had me enthralled. I love when authors craft a tale that tends to break the "norm" and that is exactly what Bazterrica has done here. Women are not the sweet, innocent, peace-seeking creatures that the world would like us to believe. We each have a bit of evil inside of us, and some of us are better than others at suppressing it. This story felt original and real...with a sprinkle of magical realism.

Instagram:
The Unworthy by Agustina Bazterrica @agusbazte ✨ A thank you to @scribnerbooks & @netgalley for the digital ARC!

Dystopian world. Climate change. Sisterhood. Corruption through power.

This book enticed me with its setting of the “end of the world” brought on by climate change, and then really sunk its talons in when Bazterrica created women who were just as easily tempted by power as men, making this feel all the more real.

Confession: I still haven’t read Tender is the Flesh 🫣 but it’s sitting on TBR shelf waiting for me to get to it! I know it won’t disappoint.

For those who have difficulty jumping into “the world is falling apart” novels since COVID, maybe the fact that there is a touch of magical realism within the pages will help it not be too triggering.

100% recommend to fans of literary horror

A dark, religious, post-apocalyptic tale of anxiety and dread and uneasiness. I got sidetracked with "Tender is the Flesh" and still haven't gotten back to it, but "The Unworthy" kept my attention. Is it because it has an Atwoodesque cast to it? Is it the sacrilegious subject matter, or the mysteries that are solved through the narrative? Maybe the terror invoked by the superior sister who rules the monastery, or the aspect of the protagonist's amnesia or her secret writing like something out of "V for Vendetta," maybe.
All in all I will definitely be recommending this title to readers who like a religious edge to their horror and apocalypse enthusiasts alike.

Agustina Bazterrica’s The Unworthy is a unique blend of horror and feminist dystopian fiction. Through fragmented writings from a woman trapped in a convent-like compound, the novel creates an oppressive atmosphere where faith is both weapon and refuge. The stream-of-consciousness style of writing that Bazterrica uses mirrors the main character's splintered state of mind. While the themes of bodily autonomy and power are gripping, the experimental structure of the novella requires patience. If you appreciate narrative experimentation and are willing to go along for the ride, The Unworthy offers a chilling meditation on faith, control, and the limits of endurance.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the arc.

Themes explored are messy and uncoordinated, the prose is sloppy, terrible worldbuilding. I think Bazterrica needs to spare herself from attempting larger political commentary when splatter seems to be where she has the most fun.

The Unworthy follows a nameless woman who resides in the House of the Sacred Sisterhood, a walled “refuge” that is home to a new religion (totally not a cult) that is governed by an unseen man. The House may be full of depraved horrors and punishments, but it’s seemingly the lesser of two evils as the outside world has been lost to climate disaster and other unseen horrors. When a stranger arrives within the walls, the narrator feels drawn to her and begins to feel hopeful about the outside world.

But hope can be a dangerous thing.

I love cli-fi horror and religious horror as well, so this one really worked for me. The women within the walls of the Sacred Sisterhood all seek enlightenment, but the means in which they do it are through body mutilation, starvation, and harming one another. Bazterrica’s writing is lush and horrific, especially when it comes to the body horror. There are some truly gross moments. I wish we learned more about what was happening outside the walls, but I see the merit in leaving things more ambiguous.

Thank you to Scribner and NetGalley for a review copy. I’ll definitely be reading more from this author in the future!

3.5 stars rounded up. This book is going to be a You hate it or A WTF am I reading and you think you love it. I love Agustina's work because, every time I read it, I am like WTF am I reading.

This is a dystopian religious horror. There were aspects that completely lost me unfortunately, but I am sure that's a me thing and not an Agustina thing. It's short, she is not shy about putting in horrific and gruesome details, and it is really intriguing. This is definitely going to be a reread for me as I feel like I would get more out of it and appreciate it more the second time around!

The writing is fantastic and sharp as ever. However, the overall story felt too reminiscent of other works and didn't land as profoundly as those other ones had.

I had such high expectations for this novel after reading Tender is the Flesh. The Unworthy is a bizarre world encased in a religious cult. It has everything you’d need from a sadistic cult story: eyes being sewn shut, weird hierarchy of members, torturous rituals and violence/abuse. It was just so. Incredibly. Slow. When I’m telling you I trudged through this book. For a book so short it felt like the longest book I’ve ever read. The narrator is so boring. There’s a love story but I just didn’t feel the passion there. I wanted so much more from this one. However, despite the slow pace, I still think Agustin’s Bazterrica is a talented writer that is skilled in creating eerie dark atmosphere with vivid and intense imagery. Some of her descriptions in scenes will never leave me.

Thank you to @netgalley and Simon & Schuster for the arc

Thank you NetGalley and Scribner!
This is the third book by Agustina Bazterrica that I’ve read but this book was not my favorite. It was interesting and thought provoking but I was left wanting more detail of the world. I needed more explanations but I loved the writing.

Thank you for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This was interesting. I found it a little slow going and the religious aspects of it were a bit much for me (religious trauma), but overall, it was a good read.

I am not familiar with the author's prior work but know that it is beloved by many in the speculative/horror world. The Unworthy intrigued me as a former Catholic with a love for climate fiction. This book follows a woman who seeks refuge in a convent of a religion that is the opposite of Christianity. This convent provides safety in a world that is full of climate disaster but the world is not as it seems. The women in this convent seek to be enlightened and many of the actions include body mutilation, starvation and abuse. The triggers abound in this. I felt like most of the time I had no idea what was happening, but I loved the writing and was quickly flipping the pages to try to understand what was occurring. The ending is chef's kiss and worth the wild ride that this book was.

Real Rating: 3.75* of five
Seemingly alone among readers, I did not like <i>Tender Is the Flesh</i> because its conceit was simply too absurd for me. I was unable take it seriously enough to get into the real story. Not at all the issue with this top-flight idea. "The Enlightened" are so very of the moment, and so perfectly limned as the abuser tech bros and Aynholes they're...parodying? illuminating in 3D, certainly. By gender-flipping the baddies, Author Bazterrica bypasses facile dismissive male critics' inevitable sexist takedowns of the story's, um, Gothic excesses. She's also thereby making a powerful point about women and their missing solidarity. The (female) abusers rise to the top, thereby to use their power in pointlessly sadistic rituals of pain and humiliation.

Hence my lower-than-expected rating. I do not wish to examine women in any remotely sexual light. It's metaphorical here, granted; I still do not enjoy it; so not-quite-four is my rating of a solid five-star story. YMMV, of course, and I very much hope it will.

"The Unworthy" by Agustina Bazterrica is a dystopian novel set in a world devastated by environmental catastrophes, where society has collapsed and survivors struggle in a barren landscape. The story centers on a nameless woman confined within the House of the Sacred Sisterhood, a secretive and oppressive religious order. Designated as one of the "unworthy," she endures harsh treatment under the authoritarian rule of the Superior Sister, aspiring to ascend to the rank of the "Enlightened."

I'm a fan of the author's last book, so I was excited to read her newest work. At first, I was confused but intrigued by everything that was happening and by how horrendous the events were. However, many new terms and concepts were introduced without much context, making it difficult to fully grasp the world until about a third of the way through the book. Unfortunately, that wasn’t enough to hold my interest, and I ended up stopping at 46%.