This book feels like an intense fever dream, through a horrifying world that becomes more real over the course of the book. The main selling point to this book is the vivid imagery, which is definitely not for anyone with a weak stomach. The book is entirely first person, following a nun living inside a twisted convent. She is restricted in where she can go, what she can do, and kept under control by threat of harsh punishment. When a stranger enters the convent, she is forced to confront both present and past and must figure out what she wants.

The only thing that this book suffers from is the length. I feel like a lot of time is spent fleshing out this world, but not a lot is spent on the plot. This is more personal preference as neither are bad, but I felt that the plot was weak in comparison.

However, I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who's into experimental horror, with unreliable narration and interesting worldbuilding. It's worth the read, but please check the trigger warnings before picking it up.

Thank you for the ARC!

I loved “Tender is the Flesh” and had such high hopes for this book going in, but I am sad to say I didn’t care for it.

In her prior works, the author had a clear societal critique - a particular facet of daily life she was commenting on as a whole. This novel, however, seemed more to be motivated by an anger at the world.

Global warming, religious practices, wealth, misogyny, the rise of technology - these are all discussion worthy topics. Throwing them all into one dystopian blender, within an inconsistently built post-apocalyptic world, doesn’t allow any of the topics to be fully fleshed out in the way a reader would expect.

After climate change causes unknown catastrophic events, our unnamed narrator is writing her history in secret on any scrap of paper she can find. Living in a walled off compound with a secular group called the Sacred Sisterhood, the protagonist tries to remember her past while surviving in the brutal cult.
This was hard to read at times, and I wasn’t sure if I even liked it until several days after I finished it. There’s not a lot of back story, the reader is dumped into the middle of the plot we have to figure it out from there, but ultimately I did enjoy this book.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of The Unworthy in exchange for my honest opinion.

One of the things Agustina Bazterrica does really well is take a horrifying piece of reality and spin it into a horror novel. But what Agustina does FLAWLESSLY is create chilling narratives that make you wonder if what is happening in her novels is actually closer to reality (or a future reality) than it is to fiction.

The Unworthy explores so many components of religious trauma and abuse that are not far from the realities of what happens in many religious cults. Some of the things the people of this cult believe are actually the same things that Catholics and Christians themselves believe, which makes this short story all the more unsettling.

While this novel fell short of Tender is the Flesh and Nineteen Claws and a Black Bird, I could see this being a win for anyone who has an interest in reading stories about religious abuse and dystopia.

4.5 stars rounded to 5.

Thank you to Scribner for the ARC.
Pub Date: March 4, 2025

THE UNWORTHY is dark - it is desolate and heart wrenching. Bazterrica places us in an apocalyptic world, ravaged by climate crisis. Our unnamed narrator tells her story through a memoir/journal style and Bazterrica cleverly has sentences pause midway when the narrator is interrupted and words that are forbidden or seem, to the narrator, incorrect are crossed out.

And yet, for how dark THE UNWORTHY is, Bazterrica's words are haunting and beautiful. But despite this beauty, THE UNWORTHY is still absolutely brutal and resolved in its horror. At times, the cruelty and horror can seem unnecessary, but as I sit with THE UNWORTHY, maybe that was the point - the narrator can't escape the pointless horror that she is subject to at the House of Sacred Sisterhood nor if she is in the outside world.

Religious horror wrapped in an extremely grim dystopian package. Not my favorite from this author personally, but the writing is amazing. It really packs a punch, and I will definitely be recommending this.

Thank you to Scribner and NetGalley for this e-arc. All opinions are my own.

To start off with wow. This book is somewhat hallucinogenic, ominous and just has a dread that permeates the pages as you read. The unworthy centers around an unnamed sister who is in a extreme convent amidst an environmental armageddon and is writing what she sees and remembers from her time before arriving there. It is heart wrenching and the way it is all revealed slowly is masterful as she is forced to face her emotions and what is happening inside the convent.

This book is short, but I believe it is super impactful. To be honest I think the reason I like this book so much is because it reminds me of "I Who Have Never Known Men". There are no real answers and we get bits of information as we go but overall there's a mystery over the big picture things. I highly recommend reading this book.

I was very impressed with The Unworthy! I have not yet read Tender is the Flesh despite having heard incredible things about it, so this is my first experience with Agustina Bazterrica’s writing, and it did not disappoint. The writing and descriptions were so dark, moody, and downright terrifying at times, and I really enjoyed how much thoughtfulness went toward building the setting and the world that our protagonist lives in. Especially after Lucia arrives, we learn more about the protagonist’s background before entering the Sacred Sisterhood and the gruesome dystopia outside. This was a fantastic read, and I really enjoyed the themes of religious oppression/suffocation, sisterhood, climate change, and violence. I’m already looking forward to the release date so I can read it again and annotate a physical copy!

Thank you to NetGalley and Scribner for the arc!

The Unworthy by Agustina Bazterrica ended up being an extremely impactful read for me, especially with it being under 200 pages. This is the 3rd work by this author I have read and she truly has a wonderful gift of creating a dystopian world that feels grim, dark and real. I felt that I was at the sisterhood with the main character at all times and felt that desperation and manipulation she did as the plot goes forward. Thank you so much to the publisher and author for this arc copy.

Religious extremism meets environmental apocalypse in The Unworthy, where Bazterrica continues her exploration of how quickly humanity devours itself. Inside a mysterious convent, an unnamed woman documents her experiences among the "unworthy" using whatever materials she can find - including her own blood. While less viscerally shocking than Tender is the Flesh's literal cannibalism, this tale of a brutal religious hierarchy creates its own kind of horror as it examines how power structures consume the powerless. Not as strong as her previous work, but Bazterrica's unflinching style still provokes profound discomfort.

Can I get my religious trauma with some sapphic pining? Yes, thank you.

"The Unworthy" by Agustina Bazterrica (translated into English by Sarah Moses) is a dystopian horror novel about a pseudo religious commune in a post-apocalyptic world. They take in "the unworthy" or young women that wander in from the wasteland and brainwash them to follow their hidden leader, only referred to with the capital H "Him." They all seek to become "The Chosen" or "The Enlightened" for this god-adjacent person, accepting mutilation as part of the ritual. And they're willing to do horrible things to themselves and each other to make that happen.

This novella was... a lot. The writing style was just shy of magical realism and confusing to follow. There was one character spoken so reverently and poetically about that I assumed they must have been a former lover, only to find out it was a cat. It was also strange for the set up of the book itself. The narrative is meant to be an in-world journal from the protagonist, who has a severely limited amount of paper and ink to use, only to go on long-winded. It could be that some things just don't translate well or need a certain context to be fully understood. For me, I was rereading a lot just to understand the basics.

This book is labelled as horror, but it doesn't really build much tension. You're dropped in to the middle of horrible things (it literally begins with cockroaches in a girl's pillow) and it just stays bad the entire time. It might have also been a personal thing, as the more confusing the writing style is, the less scary the horror is. But I was hoping for more of a gradual descent in the religious fervor that keeps them all trapped, watching the brainwashing slowly take them over a la the BITE model. But, conveniently, all the women seem to forget their lives before wandering in and immediately accept the new arrangement.

There was also supposed to be this mystery about what goes on behind the big closed door with a reveal at the end. But if you have the most basic knowledge of what goes on in cults between a male leader and his female following, you know exactly what's happening from the beginning.

The cult itself makes a big deal of the fact that it's better than the "false god" of the Catholic monks that were there prior, but it's just Catholicism by a different name. That's not necessarily a ding against the worldbuilding, plenty of irl cults claim to have the grand new idea when they're just retreading old ground. Still, the religious trauma was a little too over the top to really hit home for me. But that might be the Protestant upbringing talking.

As for the romance, I didn't really feel it. True, I am a slow burn girly and this is a novella. But more could have been done with the short run time. The romantic interest doesn't even appear until nearly halfway through and when she's there, a lot of of the page time is still spent on other flashbacks. There was some talk about prophetic dreams, as if that explained their quick connection, but overall it was hard to feel the connection.

All of that being said, I do believe there's an audience for this book. Readers that like highly purple prose and a lot of things left open-ended or taken on faith. But for me, it just didn't hit.

What a small but mighty book - Bazterrica manages to pack so much emotion into these 200 pages. Definitely not for the faint of heart! As a reader, you’re dropped into a dystopian future where the narrator lives as part of a mysterious covenant (a cult, basically), and the story is told through the narrator’s writing in secret. My only complaint is that I found the world so fascinating, and would loved to have gone even further into who the cult was, how they came to be, and how we got to that point in the future.

I’m seeing a few reviews from people that have said that they loved Tender is the Flesh but couldn’t get into this book, but that wasn’t the case for me. I think this felt more subtle in some ways? I’m struggling to think of how to better compare the two, but if you (like me) like books about dystopian futures, cults, and female protagonist I think this will be up your alley.

Thanks for the ARC net galley!

After having read “Tender is the Flesh”, this wasn’t what I was expecting from this author. It wasn’t reading to me as cult as it was just deranged. This plot felt like it’s been done before in other religious fanatic books, and I felt a lot like going in circles, I got to around 50% and just didn’t care for this anymore and felt bored.

I thank the publisher for this opportunity to read this ARC and hope on the future I will pick this up again with a new perspective, as I really do enjoy this author.

𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚: ★ ★ ★ ★.5
𝗥𝗘𝗟𝗘𝗔𝗦𝗘 𝗗𝗔𝗧𝗘: March 04, 2025
𝗔𝗥𝗖 𝗥𝗘𝗩𝗜𝗘𝗪:

You can’t change my mind otherwise, Agustina Bazterrica is a favorite of mine. I devour her writing up. When I saw Agustina was coming out with The Unworthy I knew I HAD to read this and already knew I was going to love it. The backdrop, the setting of this book was perfect for the storyline, the feeling and vibes you feel throughout this book was spot on, it was a heavy feeling as well. We see horror, destruction, death, pain etc, things I expect to see and feel in our authors writings. It really sets the mood for the read. You can vividly SEE the things within this book with the writing, it’s so impeccable. I’m not diving far into this book just giving my quick look inward for you all but stating that if you loved Tender Is the Flesh, please dive into this one, you won’t be disappointed. I will recommend this to the select few of my friends who would love this type of read…I know that they’ll love it!

Large thank you to our Author, NetGalley as well as Scribner.

I loved Tender Is the Flesh, but The Unworthy by Agustina Bazterrica left me feeling confused and disappointed. I struggle to connect with books that drop readers into the story without providing much context, and unfortunately, this was one of them.

The premise had so much potential—a dystopian, post-climate crisis world with elements like the House of the Sacred Sisterhood could have been fascinating. However, the lack of context made it difficult to immerse myself in the story. Despite being a short book, it felt repetitive and, frankly, tired.

This wasn’t a ~no plot, just vibes~ book—there was clearly an attempt at a plot. But it wasn’t executed well, as nothing significant happened until the very end. And even then, the ending felt completely unsatisfying.

While I appreciated the initial promise, this one didn’t live up to my expectations.

Thank you to the publisher and author for the arc! <3

I had high hopes for this after Tender is the Flesh but it really didn’t work for me. The whole story felt repetitive. It was just constant descriptions of torture that didn’t seem to go anywhere. I found myself getting bored.

In the dystopian hellscape of what is left of the Earth, a former convent now hosts a Sacred Sisterhood where its members trade access for food and shelter for violence against their bodies and the words of an unseeable holy man and a holy language all their own. Agustina Bazterrica's The Unworthy is one woman's secretive diary of her time in the convent and how she came to be there.

The structure of the convent is a caste system with servants as the expendable base and then different levels of women overseen by a sadistic and militaristic Superior Sister. The unworthy can be beaten, whipped, forced to clean rooms with their tongues or other creative and abhorrent punishments to show their devotion. Our narrator maintains her sanity by secretly writing at night using what every sort of medium possible, be it pilfered monk ink, berry juice or her own blood. Each night she records her days and as the narrative unfolds, also shares her past.

Earth had been rocked by catastrophe, continents flooded while others become barren deserts. Technologies have failed, diseases widespread and survivors are left to scavenge, forage or kill one another. The coven appears a refuge, but only women are able to enter. What makes one survive? Faith? The company of others? Love? The ability to read and dream of what was before and could be again?

Recommended to readers of possible dystopian futures, the extremes of human emotions or personal narratives of survival.

Tender is the Flesh is one of my favorite books from the last decade and has stayed with me since finishing it so I'm probably biased as hell. This wasn't it. I was very disappointed with it and couldn't really get into it. Reminded me a bit of The Obscene Bird of Night as well so it fell down a bit more too.

A broken world, fading with time, leaves ashes of life that seek to survive. Those ashes drag themselves to a place where they promise salvation but it is only one more nightmare, a lie that its creators cling to. They trap and torture bodies, impose and foster pain until the lost world is only a memory.

The Unworthy is a story that overflows with the crudeness of a cult. It reveals fear and fanaticism to maintain a divine power that only exists in the chaotic minds of survivors. Women who escaped the corruption of nature to enter a new life of salvation. However, that salvation is covered in pain, spilt blood, broken teeth, burned flesh and lost hope. With that terrifying tone that clings to the marrow, the author manages to unravel a frenetic story of beliefs and hypocrisy, abuse and coercion. In this story there is a beautiful prose that nourishes the rawest part of the human being, of the cult towards something superior. With simplicity, Agustina Bazterrica creates something fascinating and painful to read.

I have reservations about some plot issues that I would have liked to see explored a little more. I feel that they would have enriched the story even more. As well, there were flat moments that failed to connect with me, others felt like a reality check. It is a fascinating story, all things considered.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC!

hi, *deep breath* wow what did i just read???? oh right a COMPLETE masterpiece.

umm Augustina is hands down one of my absolute favorite authors, i don't understand how this work exists....

ok let me just start off by saying the first 40% i was confused, trying to understand the world, trying to figure out this language, and the hierarchy. but then you get to a point where you are so immersed, and you understand and then you don't want to understand anymore. you don't want to be in this world or know what is happening. what an incredible piece of literature...not for the weak by any means.

the translation was done sooo phenomenally i just need to give a standing ovation. this is a story i will not forget about lightly, but something i will come back to often as i do with all of her translated work.

thank you so much to netgalley, augustina, and scribner for the opportunity to read this early!!