I enjoyed reading this book, but it was a bit underwhelming. It didn’t live up to its potential and also failed to address a lot of things deeply enough.


There was lots of eerie and haunting imagery. And you would like it if you liked the writer’s previous books.

However, I feel like the twist could have been something better. I feel like a lot of writers use misogyny, sexual assault, and rape as shock factors and never follow through with the consequences or thoroughly address it. This way of depicting such sensitive topics really changes my opinion of the book.

For me, this was a book of two halves, and once I hit the mid-way point, I could not put it down. Agustina Bazterrica seems to have a talent for delving into how society might work in a dystopian future (not too far from reality, I fear), and this was dark, mysterious, and emotional.

I was excited for The Unworthy after loving Tender is the Flesh, appreciating Bazterrica’s talent for dark, dystopian storytelling. While I found The Unworthy more creative and ambitious, it didn’t resonate as strongly — the characters felt underdeveloped, the pacing lagged, and the emotional impact wasn’t as powerful. Despite its flaws, I still recommend it for fans, with the caveat that it’s a different kind of experience.

Barbaric, brutal and utterly beautiful says a quote on the back of the book, which is a good reflection.

A very dark dystopia where people have a degree of sanctuary in a former convent, where all are subject to a brutal and tortuous regime from those in 'power', in the hope of gaining enlightenment or elavation. The detail of this is in overview as the book focusses on one of those in sufferance, it comes across more as a cult of the end times than anything else.

The story is based around on person, having some memories return of life before the sanctuary and the relationship with other key characters. A pretty bleak book with some slender slivers of light coming through at times.

A book not for all, though if you read horror, dystopia, and books such as Tender is the Flesh from this author this is certainly one for your list.

I had very little clue what was going on in this fragmentary body horror but it was vibey and I didn’t hate it.

There is often a violent edge to Argentinian writing, and I tend to think it's part of the reason I enjoy them a lot.

The Unworthy however went too far into horror-territory for my taste. It is a dystopian novel set in a convent where sisters torture each other in the most graphic ways. It touches on interesting themes and it would make a great bookclub pick, but I just couldn't stand one more mouth being sown shut or a needle being stuck in a nipple...

“Without faith, there is no refuge”

I’m a huge fan of Bazterrica’s work and her third book didn’t disappoint. The Unworthy is written in an epistolary format, told from the point of view of an unnamed novice living in a religious order. Set in a dystopian future, the rambling statements of the narrator’s mind, the broken sentences and her shattered memories documented on the page disorientate the reader leaving you in a state of confusion mirroring that of the chronicler. You need to keep going with the story because it is worth the initial confusion I promise you!

This is a story of oppression, an examination of faith, disillusionment, the power of indoctrination to brainwash troubled minds, to bend the will of the traumatised to create a world for a crazed zealot. It has many brutal and graphic moments as we’ve come to expect from Bazterrica’s previous work. Not for the faint hearted. These episodes along the unravelling of the true nature of the convent and the torture of the women who reside there (often at the hands of their fellow sisters), will stick with you long after you’ve finished this story. It will invoke all the feminine rage and in light of what’s happening in the world today and the threat to women’s autonomy, it’s even more poignant of a read.

The imagery is haunting and disturbing and Bazterrica’s critique of power structures and the manipulation of the vulnerable will leave you with a bitter taste in your mouth. That ending is just pure heartbreak. At only 192 pages, I would have loved Bazterrica to continue on the story and to expand upon the world she’s created here.

3.5⭐️ Thanks to Netgalley & Pushkin Press for the arc.

Agustina Bazterrica's "The Unworthy" presents a dystopian narrative set within the oppressive confines of the House of the Sacred Sisterhood, a convent where young women endure severe rituals and punishments under the guise of religious devotion. The story unfolds through the secret journal entries of an unnamed protagonist, offering an intimate glimpse into her harrowing experiences and the psychological toll of indoctrination.

Bazterrica's prose is both haunting and lyrical, effectively conveying the bleakness of a world ravaged by environmental collapse and societal decay. However, the novel's deliberate ambiguity and non-linear structure may leave some readers yearning for more context and character development.

The relentless depiction of suffering underscores themes of subjugation and resistance but can feel repetitive, potentially diluting its impact. Nonetheless, "The Unworthy" offers a thought-provoking exploration of faith, power, and resilience in the face of dehumanization.

Fans of Tender is the Flesh will likely be intrigued by Bazterrica’s latest novel, The Unworthy. Ever attuned to what resonates within horror circles, the Argentinian author once again explores a dystopian landscape—this time setting her story within the confines of a mysterious convent. As cloistered narratives and nunsploitation have a renewed cultural moment—think Immaculate, Cloistered, or Conclave—it’s no surprise we’re revisiting tales that revolve around the control and confinement of women’s bodies and spirits, especially in a time marked by global fear and instability.

Bazterrica’s prose is often polarising—not necessarily due to its unflinching portrayal of violence or taboo, but because of a writing style that can feel distant, even cold. I rarely feel a deep connection to her characters, yet I find her storytelling compelling and difficult to put down.
The Unworthy unfolds through the first-person diary entries of a female narrator—an ‘unworthy’ member of a shadowy religious order—who risks everything by secretly documenting her experiences. Her writings offer a fragmented window into her unravelling psyche: sentences trail off mid-thought, interrupted by the threat of discovery or the trauma of ritualistic abuse.

To describe Bazterrica’s style as ‘cold’ isn’t to suggest a lack of empathy. There is much to feel for this narrator, whose fear, confusion, and longing are rendered with a quiet, devastating intensity. The novel navigates expected themes—religion, devotion, extremism, pain, submission, and the ways we harm ourselves and each other. At its core lies a sapphic love story, offering moments of tenderness and fleeting reprieve as the narrator falls for a newcomer to the convent. The dystopian world beyond the convent walls is touched by environmental collapse and climate crisis, further deepening the sense of unease.

While I admired the novel’s form and style, I was left with the impression of having absorbed a ‘vibe’ more than having engaged deeply with its characters or themes. That, in many ways, echoes my experience with Tender is the Flesh: haunting, hypnotic, and intentionally elusive.

I was eager to start this, like many others who read Tender is the Flesh, and I cannot believe that we are treated to yet another brilliant book.

At the start of Unworthy, we are thrown into a dystopian future where a group of young women live in a convent called the House of the Sacred Sisterhood. The book is a narrative of one woman’s experience of living in the convent which she is writing in a secret diary. The Superior Sister is a fearful character who exerts her dominance on the rest of the women through punishments, mutilations and humiliation.

While I was initially fascinated by the life in the convent; the hierarchy of girls and the categories they were placed in, the sacrifices they made often very willingly, my curiosity for this place waned because I was unable to build a full picture of who the leaders of the house were and their purpose in creating this hostile environment.

I loved the dystopian setting and the Handmaids Tale vibes but I think I would have appreciated this book more if the middle shared more of a background into the ‘why’ as there were too many repetitive events. Things started getting exciting towards the end and the ending was very well executed. I just wish the middle packed the same punch.

This to me was a wonderful dystopian horror in a religious setting
It was beautifully written and the pacing was on point!
The story was intriguing and held me throughout
I throughly enjoyed it
Thank you so much for letting me read this

I did like this book, however I found myself a little bored at times. It’s not that I wasn’t liking what I was reading I just really rated tender is the flesh so highly that this just didn’t compare.
I was a good read but maybe wasn’t the right time for me to read it.

This is my first time reading anything by Agustina Bazterrica and absolutely fell in love with it!

The Unworthy is a short novel, some might finish it in one sitting. Once you started, you can't put it down. The story is captivating, somewhat beautiful, and obviously disturbing right from the very first page.

At first it might seem that this book has nowhere to go, the more I read it the more I became confused. But once I went deeper, I just loved every single bit of it. This book is a social commentary set in dystopian world. The world is ending and its people are trying to survive, seek everything they could to continue their lives. Whatever it takes.

This book has a thick religion base, but I can feel that that could also be a criticism toward society, written in somewhat beautiful but also eerie. I think I have unlocked a new favorite.

Thank you to NetGalley and Pushkin Press for the ARC.

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for access to the e-arc of this title.
I was super excited to read this as I really vibed with Tender is the Flesh. This did not disappoint! Agustina Bazterrica's writing style is literal perfection, Insight into human behaviour and response to extreme circumstances is mind blowing, and the impact a short narrative can have on the reader is proven.
I ended up reading this after the pub date so was able to buy the audio from Libro.fm and the narrator Imani Jade Powers did a great job of reading this nameless pov narrative. I would recommend this to any reader that enjoys a dystopian narrative that has a religious like thread through it. It is a single pov but what is interesting is that I felt like I understood as much about the other characters than I did about the pov character. This is a thought provoking exploration into how mysogeny would survive a human existence altering event, like a cockroach. Pervasive lies are accepted and the survival of female bodies is an intense experience throughout. I want everyone to read this... but also want everyone to go in expecting to find it emotionally maddening and challenging.

Great book!

Struggled to get into but it got there

Love this author and would happily read more from her

4*

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!