Brutal in places, Agustina Bazterrica creates a universe where the world is ravaged, and an unknown woman writes her story from within the walls of the House of the Sacred Sisterhood.

Surreal and strange, this book is exactly what I'd expect from this author after reading her previous novel, 'Tender is the flesh'.

Graphic depictions of mutilated bodies, one-upmanship, and abuse litter the pages of this book to tell a tale of a world in which I would not wish to inhabit.

Thank you to the publisher for allowing me to read an advance copy of this book via Netgalley.

Following the cult following of Tender is the Flesh, I was excited to sink my teeth into Bazterrica’s new novel.

The premise of the novel is similarly set in a near future dystopian world of humanities making, but instead of a functioning society struggling to satiate tastes for meat, The Unworthy begins following total societal collapse - dissipation of technology, trade, food, religion, and law. Religious tyranny is at the forefront of the novel’s narrative, not definitively defined, or compared to today’s understanding of religion. Instead, we only know the religion through the difference to the far gone concepts of Christianity - with inversion of the holy trinity referred to as ‘the erroneous God, the false son, the negative mother,’ which formulates faith through negation in Bazterrica’s dystopian world. The landscape of the novel presents a kind of paradox, within the cult there’s the threat of violence and mutilation which mirrors the bleak world outside of it, but the main character doesn’t adhere completely to the spiritual teachings of the cult she is a part of, evidenced in her confessional writings that compromise the text, and are constantly regarded as a source of intense punishment or worse, if discovered. Additionally, her motives for remaining prior to Lucía’s arrival are shaky at best, unless divine revelation - however this was not overtly stated in the protagonist’s writings.

Bazterrica’s craft and imagination remains stellar, but purely on a narrative level, having encountered several texts that I believe to be inspirations for this one it did fall short compared to Tender is the Flesh. The novel explores ideas ranging from Justine (1791) by Marquis de Sade, The Last Man (1896) by Mary Shelley, and The Doloriad (2022) by Missouri Williams thematically, and as such being well read within the genre may see repetitive symbols, themes, and bleak ideas with less space to fully develop or expand in The Unworthy.

In this fictional diary we are transported to a (not so) dystopian future where climate change resulted in the devastation and almost complete eradication of all life on Earth, with the seemingly miraculous exception of a blessed piece of land where a religious sisterhood is based.

Introspective and heart-wrenching, this short novel explores an incredibly interesting speculative fiction concept with the tact typical of the literary genre. Although I'm not entirely sure I agree with the horror categorisation as a main genre.

Bazterrica managed to make me emotional with less than 200 sublime pages, but by the last one I was left with a unsatisfied feeling of yearning for more. I understand the stylistic choice and I usually appreciate when most if not all is realistically left unknown to the reader, but I feel in this case the story suffered a bit from how contained it was in its main idea and explored only inside its limits. Still definitely worth reading.


Rated 3.5 stars.

Thank you Pushkin for providing me with an advance copy of this book.

Is this book groundbreaking? No. Does it need to be? Absolutely not. Providing a fresh voice and perspective on topics as old as time, The Unworthy shines a light on the dark side of humanity.

Set in a post-apocalyptic world, we hear from an unnamed survivor who is living in a convent of sorts run by an abusive and violent woman. The convent is broken into factions ranging from the tainted servants to the elite (and mutilated) Enlightened - all serving the very real “God”, He. As our narrator shares her story through an illegal diary, we learn of the catastrophic environmental disasters that have led to an almost uninhabitable world where the vulnerable are prayed upon.

I read this in one sitting. Bazterrica’s writing is beautiful and her imagery is dark, gruelling and razor sharp. Everything about this was sinister, and the unease felt throughout kept me going.

With similarities to The Handmaid’s tale and other post-apocalyptic novels like The Road, this isn’t the most original book I’ve ever read. But when you’re dealing with social issues and the way women and the vulnerable are treated, it doesn’t need to be unique to hit home.

This book is packed with gruesome images and disturbing thoughts. It builds a world where the needy are saved and taught to be grateful for their poor treatment, thankful for the abuse they will receive. A concept all too real.

As well as touching upon environmental concerns, abuse of power, and a hard-fisted government, organised religion and cultish societies are brought into question.

Just like Tender Is the Flesh, we see how easily society conforms when it suits. We see a section of society so focused on self, it manipulates the narrative to suit their needs.

The book is not without faults. The main character comes to life about a quarter of the way through and it’s only when we start to learn about her past and the world outside of the convent that a true voice comes to life.

That being said, I adored it and will be thinking about it for a very long time.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐔𝐧𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐡𝐲 𝐛𝐲 𝐀𝐮𝐠𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐚 𝐁𝐚𝐳𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚
𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞: 𝐇𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐫
𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐫: 𝐑𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝟏𝟑𝐭𝐡

First of all - how beautiful is this cover?!

It took me 25% to get into this book, I felt like I wasn’t clever enough to read this as I was so easily confused to what and how it was written, but as it was such a short book I wanted to carry on and I started to enjoy it.

Recommend if you like:
*Augstina Bazterericca’s writing style
*Post Apocalyptic World
*Cult Vibes
*Character Driven
*Descriptive Torture
𝐌𝐲 𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: 𝟑 ⭐️
Thanks to NetGalley & Pushkin Press for this arc!

#bookstagram #books #bookstagrammer #netgalley #netgalleyuk #netgalleyreads #bookstagramuk #bookblog #horror #bookish #bookstaghouls #booksandboots #booksandskulls

“Someone is screaming in the dark. I hope it’s Lourdes. I put cockroaches in her pillow and sewed up the slip.”

After reading the first page of this book, I felt so creeped out that I wanted to throw it against the wall. But that’s the charm of Queen Agustina, patron of Horror.

The writer, whose novel Tender Is The Flesh and its literal cruelty provide insight into the horror of the human animal that hides within us all, chose a different setting for The Unworthy.

Imagine the most twisted cult that can arise when the world’s population is decimated by a real apocalypse. Imagine the cataclysm that caused it and the monsters that emerge from it. I’m talking about humans, of course.

The story is told by one of the Unworthy, because of course everyone is ranked in this 'wonderful' religious community. The punishments are cruel, the hierarchy is sometimes absurd.

I started reading the book in a kind of health-fog of my life and at the beginning I completely understood what I was reading, but I couldn't comprehend what it was telling me. Until a spark entered the story. That small, tiny, barely noticeable spark that slowly comes into our lives in such a way that we don't even know where it came from. Love.
I know, it sounds crazy but ... bear with me.

That's when I realized that the first part, which annoyed me with its horror and made me bang my head against the wall, had exactly this purpose. Even the narrator doesn't really understand what, how and why, but she follows because that's what you do in a cult. And the book wants us to not understand anything, so that we can then 'see through' it.

Tender is the Flesh talked about what a person would do to be comfortable, to not have to sacrifice a single bit. The Unworthy is about what happens when we lose all humanity, and compassion and mercy are just rotten apples on the table.

I don't know when I've ever read a book that made me feel like something is crawling all over me, and yet warm-hearted at the same time. It made me angry, I wanted to throw it out the window, but I wanted to know what the hell she was going to do with these characters. Whom I hated! ALL of them! Agustina keeps the feeling that you don't know everything yet, she's hiding a little bit from you, witholding something just out of reach and she slowly gets on the reader's nerves.

I'm still thinking about this book and I'll never stop. That's the charm of really good books for me.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨

Thank you to Netgalley, Pushkin press and La Reina Agustina herself for this amazing gift of reading before publication. 🖤 My heart is forever black for you.

This was so brilliant! for being so short it really does pack a punch. I knew l'd love this because l've loved this authors previous works, and this definitely did not let me down. A thrilling dystopian queer horror that I would recommend to anyone who's interested. The pacing in this book was so well done, and the writing (and the translation of course since I'm reading the English version) was truly fantastic. Touching on intimate bonds and climate crisis, this isn't a book l'd want to miss.

Beautifully written dystopian novel - the type that provides few answers and little active plot but is a sad meditation on a post apocalyptic world. Obviously will garner comparisons to The Handmaid's Tale and I Who Have Never Known Men but also reminded me of The Road (in vibe) and Louise O'Neill's Only Ever Yours (in the set up of the convent and intense female relationships). Found it quite moving and appreciated how short it is, I think it provided just the right amount of world building and never dragged. The prose is beautiful despite being presented as a diary written by the protagonist. Would recommend.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an e-ARC of this title!

As someone that LOVED Tender is the Flesh I was so excited to be offered an early copy of this title, and I was not disappointed.

We are immediately thrown into the story, we follow our narrator as she navigates life in a dystopian quasi religious cult, wanting to work her way up the ranks. The way the characters are portrayed and their lives are very dark and sadistic wanting others to feel pain and be the one inflicting punishment.

The story really picked up for me in the second half where we get both some background from the narrators life before she entered the cult, and also her progression once Lucia enters the cult. There are a few connections to women from different histories eg Circe and Saint Lucy.

A dark, sadistic, Sapphic story I would recommend to anyone that likes a darker read.

I started off very unsure about this book. I had read mixed reviews, and you were dropped as a reader into a very confusing world with a very unlikable narrator. However, as the story went on, the narrator seemed to "wake up," and I really loved her by the end. Her back story really developed her as a character and brought more understanding to the world.

Trying to understand the cult itself and the members in it such as the enlightened, diaphanous Spirits, full aura and minor spirits was difficult but not vital to the story becasue it was a cult and that's all I needed to know really.

As with any post-apocalyptic book, people aren't the best, and there are several trigger warnings. I will list as many as I can think of at the end. But there was a glimmer of humanity and love once Lucía arrived, and that's what I loved about this book.

Agustina Bazterrica's The Unworthy is a chilling dystopian novel set in a rigid convent ruled by an oppressive system. The protagonist, deemed "unworthy," secretly records her experiences, questioning the convent’s harsh doctrines and her own past. When a new girl, Lucía, arrives, she begins to unravel the sinister truth of her world. With themes of control, survival, and societal decay, Bazterrica crafts a gripping, thought-provoking tale that examines the consequences of ideological extremism and human resilience.

I was one of the few people who did not love Tender is The Flesh, so I wasn't entirely sure what to expect from this going in, but I was pleasantly surprised.
We are presented with a world that has been decimated by some kind of environmental collapse. Tucked away there is a monastery with a religious order who have food and water and some semblance of society. Our protagonist lives there, having undergone extreme hardship in the outside world. The women who reside there face violence and degradation on a daily basis, in exchange for the relative safety within these walls.
We are thrust into this bleak existence with very little explanation and have to figure out some of what's happening as we go along, but I feel that mirrors the journey our main character takes in the story so it really worked for me.
This book explores the darker side of human nature and the dangers of religious extremism, it's short and punchy, and it's one I'll be thinking on for a while.

The Unworthy takes place in the Sacred Sisterhood where the unworthy live in fear of the Superior Sister’s Whip. Some will face punishment and others will rise to enlightenment. One of the unworthy keeps a diary which is a risky thing to do but another unworthy arrives: Lucia who brings hope.

This was okay. Personally, I found it to be a bit derivative of other things and I have read these themes before. It was fine but I didn’t really get a lot out of this and I think Tender is the Flesh is the stronger work. That said I’ve not had the best luck with this author so I’d recommend giving it a read if you are interested.

Thank you so much Pushkin Press and NetGalley for a copy of this book!

I tend to go into books blind however I was so confused while reading this that I did actually read the blurb. This gave me more clarification and I continued on reading, being confused until I DNF’d it around the 25% mark.

The book is written in a diary format including some of the text being crossed out like it could have been in a real diary entry which was pretty cool. However, I think that’s the only positive thing I have to say about the book!

When you read around the crossings out, the text doesn’t actually make sense and it was so difficult to read!

I appreciate I have a pretty average vocabulary but the story is filled with more complex language compared to other books I usually read so I was constantly having to look up the meanings of words and it really broke the reading flow. I don’t know if this is a book issue or a translation issue.

I was going to push through with this book as it’s less than 200 pages but I had a cheeky look at the reviews and they weren’t glowing so I am confident I made the right decision.

It was a real shame as this was one of my most anticipated reads for 2025 but hey, you can’t love them all!

I'm honestly a little stumped as to how to sum this one up. I both liked and disliked it, would flick from loving parts to being incredibly frustrated...but I read to the end and was satisfied when I did.

Obviously, given the success of Bazterrica's previous release Tender is the Flesh, there is hype and expectations galore around this book. And, obviously, that is probably going to disappoint a lot of people. As for me, Tender... didn't really click, so I was just curious to see what she did next.

The setting here is fascinating; a dark, looming convent for women who have survived an ecological crisis that has basically ruined civilization and put large parts of the world underwater. there is a hierarchy at The Sacred Sisterhood and our narrator doesn't really remember her life before getting there. She is part of the unworthy, which doesn't sound great but *does* mean she gets to keep her own tongue, which is something I guess.

At this sort-of refuge, the women eat bread baked using flour made of crushed crickets, they constantly have to offer personal sacrifices, and it generally seems awful. then a new woman arrives and things get even less comfortable.

The writing style here is one that requires getting used to. it's basically a stream of consciousness, but presented as hidden/found papers. Sentences sometimes stop midway through because the author has been interrupted, some parts are crossed out, and the story will move days ahead without even so much as a line break. I admire the dedication, but would have appreciated something at least resembling chapters!

When this is good, it is really good. Some nasty descriptions here - one scene involving a rat will haunt me forever - and some just devious...the opening of the book has the narrator telling us how she has hidden cockroaches in the pillow of her enemy and it is a lot of fun.

I also enjoyed how it is hinted that the climate catastrophe was brought on my AI, which basically took over all of our lives and systems and then let nature do the rest. More people could do with bearing that in mind right now.

And I did largely enjoy the story, even if the main plot beats felt like something I'd read before. The quality of the prose here really elevates it...it's certainly a lush read.

I'm still not sold on this author, but can see plenty of folk enjoying this book. And I'd certainly be keen to try her next one.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC.

This is dark, well-paced and beautifully written as you would expect from Agustina Bazterrica. Despite, at times, feeling like I was a little lost in the story I couldn’t stop myself coming back to it.
Vivid imagery, short punchy sentences, along with stark descriptions of religious fervour, lend this story pace and depth which draw you deeper and deeper into the narrators journey.
This is dystopian and believable which makes it feel all the more bleak and horrific.

"How can you excise pain that radiates through your body, that torments your blood, that clings to your bones?"

Augustina Baztericca's new novel takes place in a cell in a convent. A woman writes the story of her life in any way possible sometimes even including her own blood. A lower member of the Sacred Sisterhood, deemed an unworthy, she dreams of ascending to the ranks of the Enlightened at the center of the convent and of pleasing the foreboding Superior Sister. Outside, the world is destroyed, cities are submerged underwater, electricity and the internet are nonexistent, and bands of survivors fight and forage in a cruel, barren landscape. Inside, the narrator is controlled, punished, but safe. But when a stranger makes her way past the convent walls, joining the ranks of the unworthy, she forces the narrator to consider her long-buried past. Many questions come up that the narrator struggles to come to terms with.

I was excited to see a new novel by this author. I have read her previous books and knew I would be in for something dark and unusual. The Unworthy is that and much more.

It is a disturbing account of a world that mirrors stories like The Handmaid's Tale told through the unnerving style of this author. There were many times I could see through what was happening which left me feeling uneasy. As the story progresses that foreboding dread reveals a conclusion that was heartbreaking.

Described as a searing, dystopian tale about climate crisis, ideological extremism, and the tidal pull of our most violent, exploitative instincts, it is worth checking out but be prepared to be in for an unsettling read.

How do you follow up one of the most astounding works of the 21st Century? [book:Tender Is the Flesh|49090884] is a stone cold modern classic and anticipation for what's next from Bazterrica is pitched very high.

In the end, it might have been an impossible task, but The Unworthy is an apropos title for this follow-up. Set in a ill-defined religious sect following a climate catastrophe, there is initially intrigue in the setting, but it never blossoms into suspense instead becoming a trope filled tread through the dystopian.

The stakes for our characters are not laid out in particular and even as our protagonist starts to rediscover memories, I think this actually detracts from the story being told as we are given scenes from any old generic dystopia of entering empty houses seeking food, water or any other useable item before bumping into some baddies.

As genius as TitF is, this is the polar opposite in terms of boilerplate dystopia that doesn't do enough to make you invest in the characters or the plot.

Set in a covent called the House of the Sacred Sisterhood, a woman desires to rise up to become one of the Enlightened, escaping her position as an Unworthy. The covent is lead by Him and his spokeswoman, Superior Sister who revels in inflicting torture and pain on those who don't abide by the strict rules of the house.

When a woman makes her way into the convent, she forms a close relationship with our narrator, and forces her to open up about her long-buried past. Through her past we learn about the barren world ravaged by ecological disaster where children struggle to survive and catastrophe unfolds. The appearance of this woman also forces the narrator to question to sanctity of the House of Sacred Sisterhood and exposes its concealed darkness.

This book is beautifully written. Some of the descriptive paragraphs in this novel were enchanting. Bazterrica creates an intense atmosphere, evoking both terror and excitement. The fact that it's written in letters, created in secrecy by the narrator in her isolated cell, adds an element of tension, particularly when they end mid sentence.

The scenes of violence and torture are well written and disturbing as they successfully add to the unsettling atmosphere created in the covent, and make the reader disturbed but engrossed in the plot.

Despite this, and this is just my personal preference, I think the novel falls short because we are unaware of what is actually happening in the covent and the narrator's past until the last 20% of the novel. It felt very slow and repetitive until then and when we learn the truth in the last few pages, I was a little underwhelmed and expected more of a shock from the revelation. I also wanted more depth into the inner workings of the covent and how it came to be.

However, this is a good dystopian, feminist horror that is worth a read for fans of the genre!

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

The Unworthy is Augustina Bazterrica’s new book which is being released by Pushkin Press on March 14, 2025. I was sent an advance copy ahead of its release date by @NetGalley and the publisher, in exchange for my honest review.

SYNOPSIS
The world has changed due to the climate crisis and humanity now bares its brutality at face value. Told through the POV of our unnamed and unworthy narrator, who keeps a secret diary of the happenings at the House of the Sacred Sisterhood. She has survived a bleak path to secure sanctuary, however, safety is a rare commodity in this community, with a whip wielding Superior Sister, and the constant scheming, petty rivalries and “The Grace Year” hysteria of the rest of the unworthy. Then one day, Lucia walks out of the place they call ‘the woods’. She seeks refuge among the unworthy but for our narrator Lucia is her refuge.

MY THOUGHTS
In the first 70 pages I felt trapped in a frightening ‘Mean Girls’ meets ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ fever dream… and it was totally fetch! The hierarchical structure of the Sisterhood is exposed but never comprehensively explained during this first stream of consciousness. Initially this frustrated me, but eventually I found it a clever way of reducing me to another of the nameless unworthy.

My emotional connection to the main character only began once she segued into her backstory around the 40% mark, which gave me flashbacks to reading ‘My Name is Monster’. I also found flavours of ‘The Water Cure’ in the environmental neuroses the unworthy feed into. The Superior Sister had the energy of Aunt Lydia from ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ and I would have liked to have known more of her story, and poor Marial reminded me of Handmaid Janine.

The Unworthy doesn’t have the originality of ‘Tender is the Flesh’ but it has the same audacity. It’s a savage little fever dream that requires a moment to fully process, and it left me with questions. If you go into this expecting (or hoping as I was) that this would be another ‘Tender’ you may come away disappointed but don’t let that detract from the impressive offering that this is. If you want to submerge yourself in a dystopian fever dream for a couple of hours, at 176 pages this is a very good option, fast paced and engaging.

RATING
I rated this a very sold 3.75 stars and to put some context around this I absolutely loved ‘Tender is the Flesh’ which I read last year and rated 4 stars.