“The Unworthy” takes us behind the walls of a religious order surviving an apocalypse. With undertones of violence, suspense, and even sexual tension, the narrator leads readers through the grueling days and nights as she seeks to be promoted from Unworthy to Enlightend. While an interesting plot, it does move slowly and the ending left me wanting more.

Agustina Bazterrica's The Unworthy is a haunting and provocative exploration of faith, control, and the human spirit's resilience amidst societal collapse. Set in a dystopian future where environmental catastrophes have ravaged the world, the novel delves into the life of a nameless narrator confined within the oppressive walls of the Sacred Sisterhood convent.

From her cell, the protagonist chronicles her existence using any means available—discarded ink, dirt, even her own blood. As an "unworthy," she aspires to ascend to the ranks of the Enlightened, seeking approval from the formidable Superior Sister. The convent offers a semblance of safety from the chaos outside, where cities are submerged, technology has failed, and survival is a daily battle. However, this sanctuary comes at the cost of personal freedom and autonomy.

The arrival of a new member disrupts the convent's rigid hierarchy, prompting the narrator to confront her suppressed memories and question the true nature of the Enlightened. Their growing bond serves as a catalyst for introspection, challenging the established norms and igniting a desire for change.

Bazterrica's narrative is both stark and poetic, capturing the bleakness of a world in decline while highlighting the enduring strength of human connection. The novel's structure, presented as a personal journal, offers an intimate glimpse into the protagonist's psyche, making her struggles and revelations profoundly tangible.

While the story's deliberate pacing may not appeal to all readers, it effectively builds an atmosphere of tension and introspection. Themes of indoctrination, the subjugation of women, and the quest for identity are explored with unflinching honesty, prompting readers to reflect on the parallels within our own society.

The Unworthy is a compelling addition to dystopian literature, showcasing Bazterrica's talent for crafting thought-provoking narratives that linger long after the final page. It's a testament to the power of storytelling in illuminating the darkest corners of human experience.

Goodreads review: Thanks to Netgalley and Scribner for the eArc! Truly the vibey novel to read when you want an apocalyptic violent cult with a side of lesbianism.
Review on my Substack (link posted below)
Thanks to NetGalley and Scribner I was able to read the eArc of The Unworthy by Augustina Bazterrica. Set to be published in English on March 4, 2025, Bazterria, an Argentine writer, outdoes herself with this atmospheric prose of a hypothetical near future apocalypse.

Warnings ahead that this novel contains cults, abuse, torture, whipping, self-harm, sexual violence, and implied sexual assault.
This is my first exposure to Bazterria’s works, and it was not a disappointment. With the worldwide success of Tender is the Flesh, I had some expectation that she might blow me away.
We follow one of the Unworthy of the Sacred Sisterhood in her diaries, telling her tale of life within the cult and the events that spiral after finding another woman who joins the Unworthy ranks. With how short the novel is, at only 200 pages, I will not delve deep into the plot of The Unworthy and remain as vague as possible because this is truly a novel one must experience for themself. Bazterria uses her words to their fullest potential and makes our protagonist a lyrical, almost borderline delirious, writer who captivates the audience of her forbidden pages in her descriptions of the world around her. Overall, this is a dark tale of the consequences of the climate crisis, ideological violent extremism, and submissiveness in exchange for shelter. The lowest class being the servant who show signs of contamination on their bodies, not deemed worthy enough of the chance to ascend.
I do not prefer stories told in journals or diaries because they tend to not be as entertaining to me with how the narrator often talks to themselves, but Bazterria makes it work. We get glimpses of our protagonist’s more ‘rebellious’ side by the words she (crosses out) replaced with a more unworthy-like mindset. The slow unraveling of our main character out of the violent extremist mindset cultured in the sisterhood made me feel as the reader a sense of accomplishment cheering for her to not conform. It is clear from the first line that this ‘little paradise’ is not a paradise at all, and with how long our protagonist has been in the cult, to see her point out the atrocities without her own sadistic relishing, the reader could see it as regaining her morality, or as she describes it, mercy. It is not as if she was originally this sadistic unworthy sister from the beginning, it is clear all these women who have found themselves in the Sacred Sisterhood was not raised there, but came from the apocalyptic world outside its gates.
Our protagonist may be knee deep into this violent cult, but it has not fully broken her spirit. This is made apparent with how hypocritical the act of writing shows her not being completely indoctrinated. Over the course of the novel, as events occur, she allows herself to stew and write about the time before she found the Sacred Sisterhood. When she allows herself to think of the past, we get to learn that climate change is the driving fact that has destroyed the earth taken from the actions we are doing in the modern day. The water wars, the final and great blackout, a certain hysteria for salvation through AI, particularly noteworthy with how it sparks controversy today.
I had a morbid fascination in the types of Chosen of the Sacred Sisterhood. These sisters are altered in some way to communicate with their god. On the first few pages we are introduced to the Minor Saints whose eyelids are sewn together to help them communicate with their god better by taking out , they sing Hymns in praise lead to where they need to go. Our main character does not look at these figures as those who are suffering and sees them as transcendent having ascended to those worthy of their god. With the way our protagonist describes these women they no longer feel human but creatures. It brought me a morbid fascination of detached curiosity as one would flick through an artbook of horror video game enemies character designs. These Chosen and Enlightened are tasked with protecting this sanctuary from the contamination of the world. How ‘the Enlightened’ were the only ones who remained unmutilated in their ascent but never seen by the Unworthy. The Enlightened mystical powers protect the Sacred Sisterhood from the ‘contamination’. The Chosen listen to the god and the earth for when certain weather patterns would come. Are they basically religious weather broadcasters? Don’t think of it that way.
It should also be noted for a story where majority of the characters are woman the suppressive air of misogyny permeates this Sisterhood. The vitriolic preaching spewed by Him, the singular male figure of this cult pits these women against each other for the sake of becoming either Chosen or Enlightened. He would not have this power over these women without the overbearing Superior Sister that keeps them in check. This hierarchy breeds keeping others subordinate and sabotages others’ chances to be higher than the other. The Unworthy are not the lowest class of the Sacred Sisterhood, no that title belongs to the servants who are made to serve the Unworthy and everyone above their rank. Unlike the Unworthy that can climb the pyramid and being chosen as worthy, the servants are stained with physical evidence of contamination from the outside world. Unable to ascend and can be used for whatever the Unworthy want them to do. The resentment the servants have for our protagonist and her class, leading them to act as the Superior Sister’s spies to punish the Unworthy. How in an environment full of violence it breeds violent thoughts and actions towards others. The hostility in the sanctum is suffocating.
How did I feel about the book? The Unworthy is very much an atmospheric ‘vibes’ novel that follows a character more than a plot, but with the prose and morsels of world building being fed to me along the way I never felt bored. Our protagonist herself is an interesting character in her own right, with a voice that makes you want to read what she feels like writing next. For a place that claims to be full of saints, everyone is contaminated in one way or another. Learning of the protagonist’s past was disheartening and truly shows what evil humanity can do when there is no society. It makes sense why our protagonist would stay in this violent cult that has structure when the outside world seems so hopeless and uncertain. Where my gripe of this novel will be is the latter half of the novel. Things happen and plot moves along, but our protagonist changes in a way that kind of doesn’t make sense unless you think of the other woman as a catalyst for our protagonist’s complete 180 turnaround about everything. Speaking of this part, it feels strangely rushed in a way where the earlier part of the novel was going at a perfect pace. This might be because we are not going in a linear timeline and are getting flashbacks to our protagonist’s past, but ??? The reveal at the end was extremely unsurprising especially if this has been advertised to you as feminist horror, and the religious shock held no weight when our protagonist is not such a zealous devote follower.
Overall, a neat literary horror novel that knew what it wanted to accomplish. I will read Augustine Bezterria’s works in the future

This one started out a little slow for me, but wow, the second half slapped! Oh, and it is delightfully messed up, too, from start to finish, so that's fun. Now, I will tell you my biggest qualm with The Unworthy, and that is that I do not know all the things about the world. And I wanted to, because that is who I am as a person. You may not be so concerned, because the story will suck you in. Be patient in getting there, and you will not regret it!

As the story starts, we're thrown right into this... Idk what to call it. Convent-turned-Apocalypse Cult? That is basically what it is- an old monastery taken over by some creepy cult leaders who use the guise of religion to do terrible, unspeakable things and pretend they "have to" in order to survive. So, we see some of these things, but can't quite wrap our heads around the why- and neither can our narrator, but she does what she must to survive, too.

The story starts to really pick up when we get a little more backstory about the narrator's life, and can truly appreciate her as a character. I could not put the book down once it picked up, and I felt a bittersweet hopefulness at the end. My initial gripe about not knowing more about the world still stands, but the rest of the book had me captivated enough that I can't be too mad.

Bottom Line: Messed up and violent, but still very emotional and character driven, I want more worldbuilding but I can be at peace with it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Scribner for this ARC!

I was a huge fan of Agustina’s other works, so I was excited to read The Unworthy. It took me a while to get into the story (about 40%) and the writing style. I thought the plot was unique, but could have been presented differently. I did like our unnamed narrator as well as Lucia and their relationship.

I’m giving The Unworthy 3 stars because I felt it was lacking in some elements. I would have liked more information about the Sacred Sisterhood and our narrators backstory.

I have, at long last, escaped the dread reading slump, curtesy of this phenomenal ARC.
I received a copy of this ARC from NetGalley, and here is my honest review.
I adored everything about this book. I read it in basically two sittings, and it enthralled me the whole way through.
This book consists diary entries written by a woman who is a member of a monastery of sorts that formed in the aftermath of a climate disaster and the collapse of the internet.
As can only be expected from this author, the prose is stunning, rich and detailed and heartwrenching. The style of the book is probably going to be very controversial, as it is slow, very internal, and you get backstory when the author decides you do, not always when you want to, but I personally adored it.
For a character who I don’t think is ever given a name, the main character has such depth of personality, and her fight throughout the book to resist the indoctrination of the leadership of the monastery and to remember her life before entering the cloister.
I went in a little cautious as to how religious life would be handled, but I shouldn’t have doubted. The structure is, of course, very different, because it’s a cult centered around a man who stays behind the cloister screens, but the core concepts and feelings of religious life are there and handled very well. In an interesting twist that I didn’t anticipate but really enjoyed, the leadership of the cloister is openly anti-Christian so that the leader can blame Christianity for the current state of the world as well as do and say whatever he wants to. The use of body mutilation as part of the steps of formation is perfect and unsettling.
The beauty of the book, comes from our main character’s three lives- each very different, but incredibly tender- a group of street children she lived with and who protected her when she was younger, a cat of some sort who she named Circe and speaks of with heartbreakingly tender reverence (and who is killed defending our main character) and lastly, Lucia, a member of the cloister with whom a soft but fierce romance develops. The rest of the book is structured around these loves.

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.