between the brutality and torture within the coven is a love letter to the natural world. it was slow at first, difficult for me to piece together the world building at times given the chaos of the stream of consciousness, but undeniably poetic. oh how I wish I could speak Spanish because I know Agustina was cooking in these passages but the English language can’t directly translate its beauty 🥲 such gorgeous writing describing the divinity of earth and *women* ♡ And the devastation with Circe. The heartbreak I felt in how the narrator spoke of her companion had me sobbing. Excited to read more from this author! Many thanks to Scribner and NetGalley for the ARC!

The Unworthy is much more subtle than Tender Is the Flesh, but grotesque in its own right. Bazterrica does gross well, and that’s why I like her:
* Eating rats? Gross!
* Cult followers with their eyes sewn shut? Gross!
* Using blood as ink? Gross!
* Crickets? Gross! And cockroaches too? Also gross!

tldr; it was gross and I liked it.

Just like Tender is the Flesh, this book was absolutely disgusting and made my skin crawl, but it was absolutely stunning. This author has such a poetic and lyrical way with words that lends itself to the grotesque nature of her books. Will always be reading from this author!

Thank you to NetGalley for an eARC!

ugh I LOVED THIS!! agustina has become an instant-buy author for me. following her other works was a challenge, but she did not disappoint. i love love love how she isn't afraid of the dark and the weird, especially related to women's lives. an incredible literary horror, although it that may not be for everyone, as most books are not. but if you're into the bleak, women vs. the void type of books, i think you would love this.

I found this book to be confusing but also very good. This book is essentially about a world where the climate and planet has died off and there is this Sisterhood that is honestly a cult wherein females live and sacrifice many parts of themselves for this god of theirs.

I usually love horror but this was…really hard for me to read. I’m unsure if it’s because it was such specific woman on woman crime in the name of religious devotion or what. I was so excited about this but I couldn’t finish.

Wow, this was sooooo intense and disturbing, ya know? It drops you right into this creepy, apocalyptic convent where the vibes are super dark and everyone's either suffering or scheming. The narrator is, like, totally unreliable and a little off, but honestly, who wouldn’t be in a place like that? The whole "diary written in dirt and blood" thing was giving major gothic horror energy.

The atmosphere was so eerie and oppressive. You can feel the bleakness of the world outside and the terrifying control of the Superior Sister inside. But like, it was also frustrating? There’s all this mystery and barely any answers, and by the end, I was like, "Wait, that’s it?" The pacing was slow too. I kept waiting for things to happen, and while there were moments of shocking brutality, it didn’t fully click for me.

Also, the themes of faith, survival, and manipulation were hella heavy. It definitely made me think, but I wish it went deeper into the world-building and characters. Like, give me more context, pls! So yeah, 3.5 stars rounded up—it’s one of those books you can’t stop reading, but you’re not sure you actually enjoyed it.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion. 💕

After escaping from 4 men who nearly kill her, a woman finds her way to a convent and joins the ranks of the sisterhood. THE UNWORTHY tells this woman’s story through diary entries (some written in her own blood), and we are given glimpses of the convent’s hierarchy as we learn the outside world has come to an end due to environmental disaster and mankind literally turning from God and worshipping artificial intelligence.

Bazterrica’s second English-translated novel might not be for everyone, but those looking for a different type of end times story may enjoy it, and don’t let the cover art fool you: this story deals with nuns, but it’s not “Nunsploitation.” This is a dark, strange, and unusual literary horror novel that will leave you contemplating where we may be headed.

Hauntingly lovely. I really enjoyed the sense of not fully understanding what was going on, due to the reluctance of the narrator to be too explicit in her descriptions on the pages of her illicit journal. The story unfolded in a tantalizingly measured way, repeatedly referencing past, yet unexplained events and people, all the while steeped in an atmosphere of urgency and earnestness.

I am truly the target audience for this book. From religious horror, to LGBTQ+ representation in navigating autonomy and identity, to the backdrop of an ecological disaster, this has everything I craved.

I loved the use of found-diary storytelling because you can see the narrator fighting herself in her own record of her experiences. It’s gives an additional layer of character development that I absolutely loved and deeply appreciated. I thought it was expertly balanced in its weighty plot-driven narrative, punctuated with flashbacks of her life story and how she arrived at the Sacred Sisterhood.

I am the type of reader that wants to understand why characters make the decisions they do, and, in that vein, readers should understand that The Unworthy is a (truly superior) literary horror. You get the mundane daily fabric of her life, mixed in with horrific descriptions of blood atonement. The contrast serves as a prime example of how ordinary this vulgar treatment is to the sisterhood.

I loved this book. Of the 118 books I’ve read this year, this easily cracks the Top 10. I’m obsessed and plan to recommend it to ALL of my horror and LitFic lovers.

Haunting, raw, heartbreaking. I couldn’t put it down.

Bazterrica is sure to make her latest English translation a smash hit. The Unworthy touches on what it means to be human, to be alive. Visceral reminders of our bodies, what they can do, what they feel, are paired with deep emotional reckonings with death and love. Our hearts, our souls, our minds, whatever the driving force of our lives is, is trapped within the corporal form attached to this Earth. What we do with the Earth affects our bodies, our bodies affect the soul. Rarely do we see modern dystopian literature lace together these unwavering facts of Life so beautifully and effectively.

The Unworthy was a gripping and dark read. It was a very tough hang, but one that I couldn’t help but keep returning to regardless.

First of all, I have to say: if someone sewed live cockroaches into my pillowcase so they get free while I'm sleeping, that would be the last thing they do.

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I loved Tender Is the Flesh, so I was excited to see this is coming up in 2025 and was very happy to get the ARC. I don't know how to feel about it now that I've read it, though... I can confidently say it won't be for everyone but if it works, it works. It didn't work for me 100%, mainly because I'm not a fan of stream-of-consciousness writing, fragmented narratives, and extremely vague worldbuilding. Still, I couldn't stop reading.

This is set in a world ravaged by climate disaster, so it's post-apocalyptic. In this world, there's a convent that takes in stray women, and if they're not sick, they get to join the ranks and potentially rise through them. There's a hierarchy, and it's a truly awful, bleak place that thrives on torture and pain, but it's better than being out there. That's the setting.

We only have one POV and it's one of the "unworthy." We follow her daily life as she navigates the dynamics of the convent, which have changed all the women into cruel, unempathetic animals, and tries to recover memories of her life before the convent. One day, she finds a woman in the woods who changes everything when she's taken in.

Most of the book is confusing, uncomfortable to read, and just... strange. The last 20 to 30% was my favorite and the ending worked for me. As I said, it's very stream-of-consciousness and vague, but if you ride the wave, it's an interesting reading experience. The horror is quite gross, Bazterrica is very good at that, and there are themes below the surface, it's just a bit difficult to parse them out. It's one of those stories where a lot of things are up for your interpretation.

Right now, I'm not sure if I loved this or not, but I didn't hate it and I'd say that if you liked Tender Is the Flesh, this is worth checking out.

This was a quick, disturbing book to read. Set in the House of the Sacred Sisterhood, a convent, our main character is sheltered from outside catastrophe (climate change mainly) while enduring a violent environment.

The writing is brutal, but beautiful. The writing is quite stylized, using strikethroughs and parenthesis, which help convey the idea that this is the main character's secret diary. The writing describes the torments endured by the "unworthy" from the Superior Sister. I am grateful the book was so short--it would be hard to endure reading of the cruelty for a full length novel. Bazterrica is truly a literary master of Horror. I truly can't think of anything comparable to The Unworthy.

This book is absolutely not for everyone (especially if you hate to read about cockroaches), but it is compelling.

Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC.

Post-apocalyptic, dystopian, feminine, atmospheric, gory, earthy, cult, bleak, pretty, ugly, Sapphic, moody...

Themes of environmental collapse, power, abuse, agency, sisterhood, religious extremism...
(it's Bazterrica, so you should know what you're in for...)

Now that I've read it-- it's quite an experience. Sort of like an old, silent film. A dream-- a nightmare-- a memory.
For as dark as it is, there is also a slant of moonbeam carrying us through.

This one is a MOOD.
Don't expect Tender Is The Flesh, just go in blind and take the journey.

Companions:
I Who Have Never Known Men
The Handmaid's Tale
The Devils
Black Narcissus

Wow, what can I say about The Unworthy by Agustina Bazterrica?
After finishing this book, I needed several hours to process what I’d just experienced. The style of this novel reminded me of one of my other favorite queer horror reads this year, A Dowry of Blood. The Unworthy struck me as a haunting and poignant love letter, though drenched in visceral horror, gore, and eerie, post-apocalyptic feminine cult vibes. It’s deeply atmospheric, to the point where it could easily be adapted into a silent horror film.

The plot remains subtle — yet terrifying — until the flashbacks start to unfold, adding layers of complexity and tension. I could see myself revisiting this book time and again, each time discovering something new. Between Bazterrica’s work and other Argentinian horror authors, I’m now even more eager to visit Argentina to experience the soul behind these unique narratives firsthand.

As a fan of post-apocalyptic fiction, I found Bazterrica’s approach to the genre fresh and striking. While cults are a common theme in many works, I’ve never encountered one quite like this: an all-female convent, twisted and sinister, with a satanic undercurrent. Since reading Tender is the Flesh, Bazterrica has become one of my automatic-purchase authors, and I was thrilled to see this novel being published — even more so to receive an early copy. A huge thank you to NetGalley and Scriber for the opportunity!

Bleak, depressing, beautiful, horrific and raw. The Unworthy is a tale of a not-so-distant future and what happens to us when everything we know is suddenly ripped out from our hands. The story is told through journal / diary entries and the writing is beautiful. Almost like lyrical prose with old world flourish. The world of the book reveals itself in bits and pieces that cause you to put it together yourself, which I found engaging. The aura of mystery is so well hidden that the ending clicks together so well. With themes of societal collapse, cults, global warming, war and the dangers of humanity this book was both spooky (since it feels a tad too real) and depressing. I felt hollow upon finishing it and I loved it. Without faith, there is no refuge.

This novel is an absolute gem of a wild ride from start to finish, with some of the most beautiful prose and imagery I have had the pleasure of reading. Bazterrica does a fantastic job of building up a sensation of dread throughout the course of the story that is tempered at times by the gorgeous, soulful bites of humanity we experience via our narrator and the newcomer that has captivated her so.

While this book had such an interesting premise, it didn’t fully live up to its potential for me. I would have loved to see the world built out a little more, to have more answers, and for the characters to be developed a bit more. Her writing gets a little over inflated at points.
However, I did find it very readable, moody, and quick. I would recommend this book to those who want a quick, dark, atmospheric, feminist read who don’t mind missing answers/ slightly unsatisfying endings.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7006019052

Agustina Bazterrica has done it again. The Unworthy is a harrowing, visceral masterpiece that cements her place as a titan of literary horror. If Tender is the Flesh forced us to confront our complicity in systems of exploitation, The Unworthy takes us deep into the shadowy intersections of religious extremism, environmental collapse, and the fragility of memory and identity. This isn’t just a novel—it’s an experience, one that will haunt you long after the final page.

From the opening sentences, Bazterrica’s prose grips you in a chokehold. The narrator, cloistered in the eerie, punishing confines of the Sacred Sisterhood, pours her story onto the page using whatever materials she can scavenge. Her voice is raw, fragmented, and profoundly human, capturing the oppressive, almost claustrophobic atmosphere of the convent while hinting at the larger, crumbling world outside its walls. Through her narration, we’re drawn into a disorienting and brutal reality where safety is synonymous with control and salvation comes at the cost of autonomy.

The convent itself is a chilling microcosm of ideology taken to its most violent extremes. The rigid hierarchy, with its Enlightened and unworthy, mirrors the social stratifications of the outside world. Bazterrica masterfully unpacks the ways power operates, especially in systems that exploit fear and promise salvation. The Superior Sister is a terrifyingly believable figure—part dictator, part zealot, and entirely emblematic of the horrors wrought by blind devotion.

At its heart, though, The Unworthy is a deeply personal story. The arrival of a stranger disrupts the narrator’s carefully managed existence, forcing her to confront not just the truth of her past, but also the sinister underpinnings of the Sisterhood. The tension between the two women crackles on the page, evolving from suspicion to something far more profound. Their relationship provides a glimmer of humanity in an otherwise unrelentingly bleak narrative.

Bazterrica’s themes are as bold as ever. The backdrop of environmental devastation is woven seamlessly into the story, serving as both a catalyst for the novel’s events and a stark reminder of the unsustainable trajectory of modern life. The way she juxtaposes the physical collapse of the world with the ideological collapse within the convent is nothing short of brilliant.

Yet, what truly sets The Unworthy apart is its relentless exploration of violence—both overt and systemic. Whether it’s the physical punishment inflicted on the unworthy or the psychological toll of indoctrination, every moment of suffering feels purposeful, demanding readers engage with the questions the novel raises. What does it mean to survive? At what cost do we pursue safety, order, or enlightenment?

For all its darkness, there’s a strange, aching beauty to this book. Bazterrica’s descriptions are hauntingly vivid, capturing everything from the stark austerity of the convent to the decaying beauty of the outside world. The narrative is laced with moments of startling tenderness, which stand in sharp contrast to the brutality that pervades the story.

Final thoughts: The Unworthy is not an easy read, nor is it meant to be. It’s a novel that challenges, provokes, and unsettles, all while delivering a deeply intimate portrait of one woman’s struggle for meaning in a chaotic, fractured world. Fans of Tender is the Flesh will find themselves equally captivated and horrified by Bazterrica’s unflinching look at humanity’s capacity for both destruction and resilience.

Would I recommend this book? Without hesitation. Would I be able to stop thinking about it? Not a chance. Agustina Bazterrica has solidified her place on my auto-buy list, and I can’t wait to see what she does next.