This was a great reminder of Bazterrica’s ability to develop the spine-chilling horror of world where the greatest evils are not only acceptable but part of the fabric of society. This climate dystopia feels awfully relevant with each passing day, and this take on the post apocalyptic cult drama still felt fresh. The given structure of the religious order felt like it was explained naturally through the narrator, but I often forgot what each role’s purpose was. Overall, the belief system was a little muddy and perhaps could’ve been exposed more through sermon, as we mostly received information from the Enlightened and Him via announcement rather than services. The reveal at the end was not surprising to me, but I think that was the intended purpose. This short novel focused on the violence women inflict on each other, and the grace they also give to one another in the face of violence from men. Religious sadism seeps through every page, but surprisingly we end on a hopeful note. Rebirth and rebuilding in the face of climate disaster is on many minds right now, and perhaps most of all is the thread of hope we all need.

Review to be posted and linked 2 weeks ahead of publishing date as requested

A huge thank you @Netgalley and to @pushkin_press for sending me this ARC of @agustinabazterrica upcoming book
“The Unworthy”
What a disturbing and devastating novel which disgusts you and then makes you want to cry all at the same time.
Sometimes the world really fucking sucks when you're reading a book and you just need a glorious fever dream of a nightmare with nuns, lesbians, possible post climate apocalypse, religious ecstasy with a side of sadism, and glorification through absolute mortification. It’s deeply atmospheric, to the point where it could easily be adapted into a silent horror film.
A bold and unflinching take on the cult trope, at first subtle and then all at once completely overwhelming, this was a claustrophobic and sinister read, themes of religious extremism, feminism, abuse of power and sisterhood, this author excels at atmosphere. This book was bleak and depressing, exploring the fragility of identity; however there is the tenderest vein of hope throughout, Bazterrica's writing is beautiful, yet brutal and guts the reader leaving them hollow afterwards.

They had me at nuns. This was visceral and atmospheric, and I found the sisterhood to be very compelling. I think it misses the mark a bit in delivering it's message, where Tender is the Flesh is quite clear The Unworthy is slightly muddied in what it's trying to get across.

Haunting, visceral, and unique! Bazterrica’s writing never disappoints and this is no exception. I couldn’t put the book down and felt consumed by the world. I like being thrown into a dystopian universe without too much explanation. Discovering things as you go along.

The weakness in this book for me was the character building. I didn’t have much sympathy or connection with even the main character. Circe was the only one who made my heart hurt for a moment. I think the ending would have been a lot more shocking and upsetting if I felt concern or worry for the characters.

Overall, I will always remember this book and be consumed by some of the visuals. It’s one I would love to discuss as I really appreciate some of the layers and symbolism.

This was my first Bazterrica book, despite having Tender is the Flesh on my shelf for the past year and I am BEYOND IMPRESSED. The pacing was perfect and the book felt like it included just the right amount of story to leave the reader both satisfied and wanting more while still feeling complete. So hard to do! A great addition to the dystopian horror genre and I can’t wait to read more from this author!

Last year I read Tender is the Flesh and instantly became a fan of Bazterrica - the story was graphic and haunting but so poignant in its meaning. When I saw this was on Netgally I knew I had to request an ARC, and I was so excited when I saw I was approved. I can definitely say that I was not disappointed. The cult of the Sacred Sisterhood was powerfully cryptic and sinister, and I was quickly drawn in by the quiet, secret language the unworthy shared with one another in order to compete and survive. The dark plotting behind the Sacred Sister's actions was an excellent motivation to keep the story moving, but even beyond that was the backdrop of the environment that had driven so many people to seek refuge in such a strict, unforgiving place. It felt close to home to hear all of the disasters that hit society, from the climate effects to the technological blackout, hitting on a lot of modern day concerns and presenting a possible outcome. I was invested in the events that led to the narrator's arrival at the facility as well as what was going to happen to her and Lucia next. My only detractor from this book was that I didn't feel the meaning as strongly as I did with Tender Is the Flesh, and I've been sitting with it trying to pin down my thoughts, but I still feel a bit scattered about it. Even so, the story was phenomenal and I'm looking forward to reading more of Bazterrica's work in the future.

A dark tale that starts out flirting with the genre torture porn genre of likes of Eric La Rocca, by degrees of slow reveals turns into a story steeped in themes of reflection, environmental collapse, loss, and redemption. It doesn't offer up it's plot easily, bread crumbing it's way to the end through character exploration and purple prose, and I constantly had to shift my perspective on what to expect from it, both as a story and as to it's genre, which really kept me engaged.

It's certainly not for every one, likely to be appreciated more by those who tend to like the "arthouse" feel, but I quite appreciated it, and found it to be a good introduction to the author.

ARC provided by NetGalley & Scribner

Honestly not her best work but still very good. A haunting story that will stick with you. Would recommend if you enjoy her other work.

There was no context for what was going on. I was very confused the whole time. It seems more like a shock factor book than anything. I liked Tender is the Flesh, but unfortunately this one wasn’t for me.

Firstly, I’d like to thank NetGalley and Scribner for the digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I wish I could say that The Unworthy horrified and engrossed me like Bazterrica’s highly-acclaimed Tender is the Flesh, but unfortunately it did not.

I found the plot very hard to follow even after it’s slowly pieced together through the narrator’s recounting and writing. You follow an “unworthy” as she writes about her life in a secretive, confined convent. The outside world is apocalyptic and unsafe. All the narrator wants to do is please the Superior Sister and become an Enlightened. However, you learn that it comes with a price.

This is violent and descriptive as Bazterrica’s writing usually is. You discover more and more about the narrator’s previous life as she meets an outsider who finds their way to the convent. Not much happens until the very end and then I was left wanting more and confused.

I feel like there are better feminist dystopian novels out there. I recently read “I Who Have Never Known Men” and I was deeply touched by it. I feel like it says more about the climate crisis, greed, and ideological extremism more than this book did. I was lacking humanity in the characters and I think that hurts the story because I prefer to see the humanity in inhumane situations described in this book.

This will definitely resonate with some but it did not for me.

This was... a lot different than Tender is the Flesh. Not at all what I was expecting and I could barely force myself to finish it. If you like a more dark, fantasy type stories you might enjoy this? Very confusing story to even explain.

DNF at 42%
I tried and tried to get into this book. I still love Tender is the Flesh and was hoping for a book as good as that was. This was not that. It may work for some people it just didn't for me. Reminded me a lot of The Doloriad and for me that is a bad thing. It was constantly confusing and I felt like I was forcing myself to try and read it from the first few pages. Will still try other works by Bazterrica based on how much I liked Tender is the Flesh though. This just falls into a subgenre that I couldn't come to enjoy. Rating based off the portion I read so take that into consideration.

This book is lingering inside me.
The first 35% of this book was pretty slow, but even when I put it down, I felt myself thinking about it in slow times. Around 45% with the introduction of Lucia and her magical antics, I found myself hooked.
Loved the sapphic nature of the main character. Representation can often feel centralized in an over-the-top way, but the queerness of the main character was so normalized it fit very well and felt natural.
My heart broke over Circe. I was not ready, and I cried at work.

Something I felt could have been improved upon: I feel like the ramp up and climax of the book could have been fleshed (haha, heeeyyy, Agustina!) out a little more if the book had been given 50 more pages. We could have gotten more background on the Tarantula Kids, Circe, basically her life before the Sisterhood. From the beginning of their relationship to the fleeing of the compound felt a little rushed. It could have used a little more build up and suspense.

Will always and forever love and read anything that Bazterrica puts out.

Thank you, Net Galley, Agustina Bazterrica, and Scribner for the ARC! Will definitely be ordering a copy for our collection.

C

This book was so weird, neurotic, and delicious. Dystopian novel about a sisterhood with bizarre rules and rituals in the middle of an apocalypse. I was not expecting it to also be sapphic, which was the cherry on top. The story was kind of giving jim jones/doomsday cult with some elements of mysticism. There were many scenes in the book that depicted torture to obviously satiate the sadistic tendencies of the sisterhood’s leadership, and even though they were disturbing I found the power dynamics within the cult really interesting. I wish it was a bit longer and delved more into the hierarchy and origins of the sisterhood. Overall the book was really good and I will definitely be purchasing a physical copy. Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for the eARC!!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Where do I start with this book?

We begin in a post-apocalyptic world within the inner walls of the House of The Sacred Sisterhood. A global climate crisis has led to a progressing mass extinction of humanity. Our narrator, once a wanderer, has been inducted into this religious cult ran by the Superior Sister and...Him in order to find refuge. She lives as an Unworthy, determined to move up the ranks and become an Enlightened. We follow her journey through diary entries and watch in horror as she begins to unravel her past and the cult’s web of lies.

Bazterrica’s writing is absolutely captivating. The style in which she writes has a particular, haunting beauty that left my stomach churning throughout the whole read. I don’t frequently read horror, but if you’re looking for something gory and slasher-esque, I think you’ll be left scratching your head. The Unworthy is the type of horror that crawls under your skin and raises the hairs on your arms. It was deeply disturbing, but not overtly gory or terrifying. Bazterrica relies on the reader to find the true horror of this story, with deeper meanings hidden in every line. Some of the most grotesque realizations come from the reader’s imaginations, and Bazterrica capitalizes on this like no other.

The Unworthy is a story of perpetual dread with moments of ever-fleeting happiness. It left me speechless with my mouth covered in absolute horror, a moment I truly don’t think I’ll ever forget.

Thank you to Net Galley and Scribner for a copy of “The Unworthy” by Agustina Bazterrica in exchange for an honest review!

This was quite the letdown considering how captivating “Tender is the Flesh” was.

The beginning felt purposely confusing in a pretentious way. I was very frustrated with how little the reader is given, to the point that I didn’t care about a single one of these characters. I was anticipating a twisted take on a story we’ve all heard before, but this just ended up being a recycled version of the same old exhausted trope involving an all female religious cult, committing horrendous acts of torture and mutilation, all in the name of servitude to their “godly” male leader.

Although this author’s writing is beautiful, this was quite tiresome and repetitive. Nearly every word was painfully predictable, and then the reader’s reward for crossing the finish line was a hasty 2 page afterthought of an ending, which felt incredibly insulting.

I’m not sure how I feel about this one. It’s a foray into a violent, dangerous and very possible future, where the Earth is destroyed and humanity is desperate for anything to hold onto, such as land, food, water- or a safe place to land and believe in. Enter: the House of the Sacred Sisterhood, where young woman are allowed to live in subjugation to the Superior Sister and Him, as long as they remain “uncontaminated” and follow the rules. Men, children, and old women are killed if they wander in. The unnamed narrator begins to question everything she’s believed since she’s become an “Unworthy” when a new woman wanders in and the narrator begins to remember more about her past.

I don’t know where I fall with this one. It’s gory, violent and feels disturbingly prophetic, but it also doesn’t seem to have a clear message in it. I was hoping there would be some kind of clear metaphor or message in the writing a la Margaret Atwood, but I was disappointed on that score. Things seemed very bleak from head to toe and not getting much better.

However, there were some interesting points about subjugation, fear, and control, in the way that the Sisterhood and its hierarchy operates. Obviously, without the fear instilled by the conditions of the outside world, the Sisterhood would have no power, and the things the Superior Sister and He do are awful, all in the name of healing what is clearly a natural catastrophe, which they present as a divine punishment. It’s a classic story.

Either way, I was terrified reading this, which is the main purpose of a horror story, right? So on that point, it did the job perfectly! A++! The idea of environmental catastrophes and water wars could 100 percent happen and this scenario, trying to find shelter and enduring hell to remain safe and alive - that could very well happen. Like I said, it’s terrifying on many levels.

So I do recommend this book, just because I didn’t “get it on every level, doesn’t mean you won’t! Maybe you can help explain it to me!

Not for me... Not for many, honestly. The writing here is working too hard to be edgy while revealing so little that it is impossible to care what is going on in this world. Like others have mentioned, there are pieces here that remind me of I Who Have Never Known Men and The Handmaids Tale but those two do it far better, in my opinion. There's not much to drive readers forward here and, considering this is my first encounter with Bazterrica's work, it left a bad taste in my mouth.

3.5 rounded down to 3. I generally enjoyed this book but I did have some issues with it.

This book is a short read at just shy of 200 pages but the first 60% of this is very slow. Once you get to around 65-70%, everything starts happening so it's definitely a very slow-burn. My first book that I've read by Agustina Bazterrica was Tender is the Flesh and I absolutely adored that one. This one was also a good read, but wasn't quite as good in my opinion. I think both are worth reading as long as you have the stomach for the content.

I wish the beginning of this book had a bit more context to it with less of an abrupt start. I felt like I got thrown into the thick of things and needed some catching up. Because of this, there was some confusion for me and I had to read quite a bit further to get a grasp on things. Once I had that baseline of understanding, this book was much more enjoyable for me. I think I would appreciate this story more on a reread after having the context of already finishing the whole book.

The story itself was harrowing. You could feel the desperation and determination of the "Unworthy" sisters. The story is very dystopian having taken place after a climate disaster leaving the world in shambles. Being inside the convent walls is not much better and only adult women are allowed entry.

This story brings up a lot of great points for deeper thinking.

Thank you to Netgalley and Scriber for sending me an arc of this book!

TW: torture, violence, death, physical and sexual abuse, rape, blood, animal death, murder, emotional abuse, gore, religious bigotry, confinement, self-harm, pregnancy

This was super atmospheric, the prose was great, I loved the back story. Did not love the rush job ending.