I'm just so sad that this didn't work for me, because the premise was so intriguing. A strict all-female cult in the middle of a dystopian post-climate-crisis wasteland riddled with deadly diseases that strongly opposes Christian beliefs and is lead by a mysterious man neither we nor the sisters ever fully meet in the novel, worshipped by women of different ranks that hurt themselves and each other in order to rise in the ranks and become more than one of the titular Unworthy - sounds amazing. And in a way it is. Nothing about the world outside of the Convent is ever clearly defined, because our protagonist doesn't know much either, and it really added a lot to the overall eerie atmosphere of the book. The dynamics between the sisters and between the different ranks were fascinating, and the writing in itself is beautiful.

Still, I was never completely drawn into this novel. There was too much deliberate vagueness that was clearly intended but didn't work for me, the sapphic relationship had good bones but felt unfinished, and the resolution was too obvious from the start. This book is definitely an experience and an interesting one at that, and I like a lot of the ideas and the atmosphere the story creates. It was simply, despite it's short length, too repetetive for me and didn't go as deep as I wanted it to go, with a final reveal that everyone will see coming and that isn't explored at all because the book is done shortly after. Maybe I just wanted something different out of this.
Still recommend it for the experience and the writing, though.

The Unworthy by Agustina Bazterrica, translated by Sarah Moses
⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.5 stars
Publication date: 13th March 2025

Thank you to Pushkin Press and Netgalley for providing me with an e-copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

In the House of the Sacred Sisterhood, the unworthy live in fear of the Superior Sister’s whip. Seething with resentment, they plot against each other and await who will ascend to the level of the Enlightened - and who will suffer the next exemplary punishment.

This was so good. It was horrible, but so good! I am such a huge fan of Bazterrica's writing.
This is a little bite of a book at under 200 pages, and I read it in one sitting. It was disturbing and fascinating in equal measures and I could not put it down.
I loved the fact that we are dropped, without any context, in this post-apocalyptic dystopian world and in the strict confines of the Sacred Sisterhood - it is disorienting and it is suffocating.
This is a story of religious fanaticism and collective trauma, but it is also about how much cruelty people are ready to dispense and ready to accept in the name of their beliefs. It is brutal and bleak, and relentlessly horrifying.
I did feel that the ending was missing a little bit of impact - I wanted something that would deliver a punch to the gut, similar to the sickening ending of Tender is the Flesh. Finally, I cannot review this book without mentioning the utterly stunning cover - gorgeous!

This was my first book by this author and it did not disappoint! The story was dark and the writing was moreish. I can’t wait to pick up more by this author!

**ARC REVIEW**

Thank you to NetGalley and Pushkin Press for an eARC copy in exchange for my review.

I loved Agustina Bazterrica's "Tender Is the Flesh," so I eagerly anticipated her latest work, "The Unworthy," and it did not disappoint. Scheduled for UK release on March 13, 2025, this novel is a dark and incredibly twisted exploration of survival and faith in the midst of dystopian desolation.

In a world that has been ravaged by climate catastrophe, the story follows an unnamed young woman seeking refuge within the oppressive confines of the Sacred Sisterhood. Yes, it’s as scary as it sounds. This religious order, fronted by the formidable Superior Sister (evil incarnate) and an unseen deity referred to as "He," imposes brutal rituals on its members. Women deemed "Unworthy" aspire to become "Chosen," a status that subjects them to severe mutilations— I told you, very twisted—to serve as conduits to their hidden God.

Bazterrica's unflinching prose transforms the grotesque into the poetic, capturing the stark beauty amidst horror. The novel's structure, presented as the protagonist's secret journal, offers an intimate glimpse into her fragmented memories and growing defiance.

This story is not for the faint-hearted; it delves into themes of self-harm, mutilation, and torture. Yet, amidst the darkness, it explores resilience and the quest for autonomy. Bazterrica masterfully critiques religious fervor and blind obedience, crafting a narrative that is both disturbing and deeply moving. She doesn’t mince her words either, so every paragraph packs a punch.

This is a must-read for those who love a “WTF am I reading?!…Hmmm let me read more” book. You won’t be disappointed!

Disturbing, unnerving and absolutely intriguing, I was completely engrossed in this novel from the very beginning. Set in a disease and disaster ridden future, it follows an unnamed protagonist who has found 'shelter' in a curious convent that is home to the Sacred Sisterhood - a cult like religious group that grooms 'The Unworthy' towards enlightenment and away from sin.

Slowly, our protagonist attempts to untangle the web of lies that the group is built on, as she attempts to chronicle her life before and during her time with the sisterhood, questioning the blind faith of it's believers and whether it is in fact refuge or ruin that she has found there.

I adored how bizarre this novel was, with elements of the grotesque and macabre. Perhaps making those enchanting glimpses of tenderness and gloriously human wonderment all the more poignant.

I was excited for this as previously I read Tender Is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica was a book that I enjoyed but also couldn't explain how I felt! This book had me feeling a similar way with feeling unsure of what way everything was heading. It was such a dark and compelling read overall.

nowing what this author written before, I am going to be honest I wasn't sure entirely what to expect from this book and honestly, expectations were surpassed when it came to this book as it draws you in, pulls you close and leaves you breathless until the very last page.

A story told to us by one of 'the unworthy' who live in an old manor or castle as some sort of cult or convent like system, The Unworthy is an unflinching and creeping account of the lives of the women who live there. Sharing stories, gossip and thoughts on to the pages in her blood, 'the unworthy' writing this feels so human and real and this combined with such poetic and beautiful writing makes for mesmerising storytelling.

A story about a post-environmental catastrophe and what people do to survive when there is nothing left to hold on to, this story is about so many things, the human spirit, the planet we inhabit, family and power and how it corrupts people even in the darkest of times.

It amazes me just how much this book packs into less then 200 pages, extraordinary.

(thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the arc for review).
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4.25 stars <3

It took me probably about 40 pages to properly get into this, but by the time I did, I absolutely flew through the rest and could barely put it down. I love a "found footage" style diary entry narration, and the writing here strikes the perfect balance of being descriptive enough while still having that journal style vibe. There is a lot of repetitive cycles of prayer and torture which does a great job of setting the scene in terms of the repetitive and miserable lives in the convent.

I think there is a lot to interpret in this book, but to me it spoke strongly of the misogyny inherent to religion, and how keeping us as crabs in a bucket is an effective way to prevent organised resistance. It also works really well as a prophetic dystopian future.

“These words contain my pulse.
My breath.”

Five years after Tender Is the Flesh exploded onto the scene (or at least, five years after the brilliant English translation by Sarah Moses), Agustina Bazterrica is back with another dark and gritty dystopian.

Here we follow our unnamed narrator, an unworthy, a lowly disciple of the House of the Sacred Sisterhood, as she secretly recounts her days under the iron rule of the Superior Sister and tries to remember her life Before. Not before the earth became a toxic wasteland, for this earth is the only one she has ever known, but the life she lived before her arrival at the Sacred Sisterhood. For all the unworthy were once wanderers; lost souls seeking solace within the House’s walls.

“Without faith, there is no refuge.”

While this didn’t quite have the same impact on me as Tender Is the Flesh did, it was an exquisitely written work. Dirty and raw whilst remaining vaguely hopeful at times, Bazterrica had me sobbing one moment and feeling nauseated the next. The text represented the power of community, and how one small spark, one small act of rebellion, can be enough to change the fates of those around you. For if we lose hope, if we lose connection, what else do we have?

“Maybe one day, in some future now, someone will read what I have written and learn of our existence. […] Or maybe they’ll become dust and return to the earth, fertilising it, nourishing the roots of a tree, and our story will be understood through the leaves that oxygenate the collapsed world.”

Thank you to NetGalley and Pushkin Press for the advance copy! Out in the UK 13th March.

At times tender and optimistic but oftentimes completely and utterly devastating, Bazterrica weaves a dark and intricate story of a group of women doing what they can to survive in a post-apocalyptic world in the House of the Sacred Sisterhood. Our unnamed narrator leads the reader through a written account stylistically reminiscent of The Handmaid's Tale of both present day life in this new and changed world whilst also reflecting on the changes that occurred in the world to lead to this point and the journey that led her to becoming one of the unworthy. The narrator writes familiarly and almost as if she is only recounting events for herself so there is a sense of playing catch-up as you attempt to grasp the dynamics of this new landscape but the story is immediately captivating and you find yourself immediately gripped, desperate to know where the story is going..

Based on the stylistic choices of how to tell this story, I felt that I had a good idea of how the story would end and I was not disappointed however the plot is completely unpredictable in the very best of ways. Bazterrica's ability to write really chilling stories that also feel incredibly intimate is unmatched and I am excited to see what she does next.

I'll admit that I am yet to read *Tender Is The Flesh*, but it's received such overwhelmingly positive reviews that I was very excited to get a copy of Bazterrica's upcoming novel *The Unworthy*. Unfortunately this book really didn't work for me, and despite trying to push through due to it being relatively short (plus the fact that it was a review copy) I've ultimately given up at the 50% mark.

*The Unworthy* drops us into a dystopian post-apocalyptic world, where we're shown life in a strange convent of sorts, populated by mutilated Saints and howling monks. The narrator keeps a diary of her life, written in the dark when nobody knows she is writing, kept hidden beneath her bed lest the Sisters find it.

I desperately wanted to love this, but the writing is so impenetrable as to be almost meaningless. Bazterrica gives absolutely nothing away about who these people are or why they live the way they do, and nothing that we're shown has any rhyme or reason. And what we *are* shown is miserable, an endless torrent of torture and mutilation witnessed and partaken in gleefully by the narrator, who seems to hate everyone around her and takes great joy in seeing suffering (while acknowledging that she doesn't want to be mutilated herself).

If there's a point here I failed to find it in the nearly 100 pages that I read, and the initial visceral shock of the torture scenes eventually wore of due to oversaturation so that I was simply bored of reading about it. Other reviews imply that it all comes together in the end, but I simply didn't have the endurance to get there.

This book grabbed me by the throat and wouldn’t let go.
In this we follow an unnamed main character who is at an old monastery that’s been taken over by a cult like religious group called the sacred sisterhood.
After the environmentsl collapse of society due to climate change.
There are only women there apart from a man they refer to as Him who they never see but he is the leader of the cult. These women are the unworthy and they must obey, suffer and fight to become Enlightened through a series of sacrifices that involve lots of nasty forms of self mutilation and harm to prove themselves. As you discover more about how our MC came to be there and what it took for her to survive the world behind the walls of this sacred place seemingly protected from the outside world that has been destroyed.
This book for me was so fast paced and didn’t let up until the very last word on the final page. The writing in this was beautiful and dreamlike. For the first half I was not sure what was going on but it unfolds so satisfyingly that I couldn’t put it down and I had to finish it.
This to me is a dramatic shift from tender as the flesh but in a really brilliant way I think if you enjoyed Books like I have never known men or Piranesi I feel like this is a bit of a ‘these two books had a baby’ situation for me. At no point did I believe that anything that was happening in this book was real almost, like was it all a dream or a premonition? . I am still not sure how to score this book. I’m kind of teetering on a 4/5 but honestly the fact that I read it so quickly and I couldn’t put it down and I was really hungry to pick it up. Kind of suggest to me that it’s leaving more towards five but at my brain just cannot put together what I feel about this book but it was really brilliant and I highly recommend that people check out when this finally hit shelves, in March.

This was fascinating yet completely bizarre read.

The story is set in the post-apocalyptic world and our main character is a part of a cult, the secret sisterhood, where aside from the male leader only women are allowed. The titular unworthy are one of the lowest level of the cult (lower only are the servants) who punish themselves in guise of sacrifice, and betray each other for a chance to rise in the ranks. A dubious privilege when women of the higher ranks are blinded, deafened or have their tongues removed.

We discover the main character's story and what happened to the world through a series of diary entries, with each new entry we can feel her getting further and further from the influences of the cult.

I think apocalyptic stories are some of the scariest stories out there right now. It keeps hitting closer to home than it feels comfortable. And I think this story is exceptionally poignant with it's portrayal of how easily people will fall under indoctrination just for some sense of community and stability. How quickly our humanity can be taken away.

I think it's also interesting that our main character is not nice. We meet her at the point where she fully embraced the teachings and standards of the cult and she's cruel and ruthless, and only in some of the flashbacks we see that she wasn't always like this. I could have read more of this story so easily, so many points of this story seemed only lightly touched upon and I still have so many questions. But at the same time, the world of this story is so cruel. You don't want to stay there too long.

Dark, and uncompromisingly brutal literary, dystopian horror set in a closed religious order after the collapse of the civilised world.

This is not for the faint hearted, but the bare bones story telling, stark and minimalist world building punctuated with unflinching horror worked for me.

I’ve truly come to appreciate Bazterrica’s writing style and whilst I put my finger on why, I think those who loved Lucy Rose’s The Lamb will also like this (a feeling solidified by the fact that I discovered after finishing it that she has blurbed the book). Not everyone is going to love this one but it really worked for me.

Thank you to Netgalley and Pushkin Press for this digital review copy of "The Unworthy" in exchange for my honest and voluntary review.

Agustina Bazterrica’s highly anticipated second novel is a speculative exploration of a world decimated by climate change. Our protagonist lives in what can only be described as a convent, of a new religion, where people are deemed Unworthy or one of the Enlightened. Outside the world is ravaged, food is scarce, weather fluctuates violently and people are deemed ‘infected’.

This religion has vestiges of Catholisism but denounces “the erroneous God” in favour of a mysterious figure and the “Enlightened” whose purpose we are never quite clear on. The tenet of this religion is never quite clear, to either the reader, or seemingly to our narrator either.

She writes the narrative in secret, hidden away in her cell with whatever materials she can get her hands on, including we are lead to believe, her own blood. She frequently leaves sentences unfinished when she must hide her work from the ever watchful eyes of the other women and Superior Sister.

Her existence is a tortured one - literally. The religion the convent abides by demands extreme suffering and punishment - both inflicted and voluntarily as sacrifice. Violence is so ingrained in this world that the women further inflict it on each other - providing them small elements of control in a world where they are at the mercy of not only the hostile environment, but the machinations of the Superior Sister.

The novel reads like a fever dream, flitting between the horrors the narrator and her companions face now, and how she came to be there, struggling and surviving through ecological destruction. It’s an incredibly harrowing book, often downright difficult to read despite its brief length. While pushing boundaries, and provoking discomfort are elements of horror as a genre, here the scenes of violence are repetitive, verging on gratuitious.

Despite this, the plot does ultimately develop, providing a glimmer of hope in this desolate future, and somewhat redeeming the novel from its difficult beginning. However, even for a fan of horror The Unworthy tips into torture-porn. Given how well-loved Bazterrica’s first novel is, it seems unlikely that The Unworthy will quite live up to it.

In a world poisoned and destroyed by climate crisis, the Sacred Sisterhood is the only refuge for the surviving souls of the devastation, but this convent is anything but a safe haven. In a hierarchical society full of rules, torture and punishment, our unnamed protagonist risks her life to write and keep her diary safe. Recounting her awful experiences within the Sisterhood as one of The Unworthy, she describes the cruel and savage ways of the convent where residents are divided into classes each receiving specified punishments and brutalisations all in an attempt to transcend their Unworthy status and become one of the revered Enlightened. But our nameless narrator remembers her life outside the refuge, she remembers those she loved and those she lost in the crumbling world beyond the woods, and when a new Unworthy soul, Lucia, joins the convent, she and our writer begin to long for a life free of this torment, and together, maybe they can escape the control of the Sacred Sisterhood.

The Unworthy is a strange and unnerving novel, filled with graphic and sadistic scenes of torture and violence often present in Bazterrica’s work. I enjoyed the world building in this story and the dystopian descriptions that were present where very immersive, however, a lot is left without explanation and there is often limited backstory to add context to the narrative. I am definitely one for more detailed and thorough reasoning behind current events in a story as opposed to the mysterious and left up to interpretation route, but I am aware others really enjoy this style of writing. Overall The Unworthy is a short and rather gruesome, sadistic story with a sapphic twist and I would recommend it to any lovers of religious cult stories and more graphic body horror.

Thank you to Netgalley and Publishers, Pushkin Press, for the chance to read and review this ARC.

Content Warnings: Animal Cruelty, Animal Death, Blood, Body Horror, Bullying, Child Death, Confinement, Death, Death of Parent, Emotional Abuse, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury Detail, Pandemic/Epidemic, Physical Abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, Religious Bigotry, Self Harm, Sexual Assault, Sexual Content, Sexual Violence, Suicide, Torture, Violence, War.

I love the world Agustina creates in this novel - deliciously bleak and unsettling. So much is packed into such few pages and there were parts that generally bought tears to my eye, as well as others which had been in tenterhooks.

An intriguing setup, but overall an underwhelming read. The post-apocalyptic dystopia seems familiar, so I was keen to know more about the order that the protagonist belonged to, and what led them to where they were. However, much of the book was repetitive, about the everyday life of the women, and the ways in which the protagonist stole time and space and materials to write her journal. By the time anything of note happened, in the last third or fourth of the book, the story was already dragging. The ending seemed a bit of a fizzle-out as well.

The Unworthy by Augustine Bazterrica, author of Tender is the Flesh, lands us in the walled compound of the House of the Sacred Sisterhood. A multi tiered religious cult at the end of the world. Set in a climate dystopia, we are thrown into the cult as we would be had we managed to scale its walls in the desolate land it inhabits. There are many different tiers to this cult, servants serve The Unworthy, who wish to one day ascend to the level of The Enlightened who serve under a Superior Sister and an obscured male character who acts as the cult’s figurehead.

The Unworthy details the life of our main character who keeps a diary in secret, using the ink of old monks who once inhabited their compound, and anything else she can find. She details their day to day, their rituals, daily work, how they interact with one another, and the ways they punish each other. She also gathers control in any way she can, writing her secret journal, stealing small trinkets, playing tricks or punishment on the other Unworthy and gathering poisonous mushrooms.

Everything changes for our main character when Lucia arrives, her differences threatening to shift the cult’s monotony. Our main character begins to explore and remember her time in the dystopia before she arrived at the cult, and we learn more about this world at the end of a climate disaster. How she had survived until now, and the differences between the outside world, and the inner cult.

This book was really gripping, I liked how it landed us straight in the world, and it took some time to make sense of things. To make sense of the different cult roles, the dynamic, why they exist, and why they exist the way they do. I think this was a really useful technique to make us feel how the characters who suddenly discover or end up in the cult might feel. I would have loved a bit more detail on why the cult exists, what specifically it preaches, and how it came about. However, I do think what we were told (or not told) lent a lot to the mystery and unease around the cult.

Pick this up if you like: cults, dystopia, lgbtqia+ characters, books with women, climate dystopia, religious cults,

Thank you to NetGalley, the Author & Publisher for providing me with an ARC for this book in exchange for an honest review.

Having read Tender is the Flesh and having felt really queasy throughout it, I was a little bit nervous to read Agustina Bazterrica’s newest translation. But I am so glad that I did. It’s bizarre, eerie and haunting. Based in a post-apocalyptic world (but within living memory of civilisation), the unnamed protagonist lives in a secretive order in which she is a low level “unworthy”. The apocalyptic event is hinted at, but never revealed, with few animals and fewer humans surviving. Much of the horror comes from what isn’t revealed, or what is rumoured to take place outside of what is revealed to the protagonist (and therefore the reader). It’s so bleak, it leaves you with so many questions, but it’s well worth a read.