The Unworthy | Agustina Bazterrica | Dystopian Religious Horror Fiction | Netgalley ARC Book Review

 

"Which holds greater importance in today's world: the principles of religion or the essence of humanity?"

What are your thoughts on it? 😊

I think humanity should be the only religion we all should follow to make this world a better place to live.

Name of Book: The Unworthy

Author: Agustina Bazterrica

Publisher: Pushkin Press

Publication Date: 13 March 2025

No. of Pages: 160

Format: Netgalley ARC

From her cell in a mysterious convent, a woman writes the story of her life in whatever she can find—discarded ink, dirt, and even 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 plagued by catastrophe—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—and what she may be overlooking about the Enlightened. As the two women grow closer, the narrator is increasingly haunted by questions about her own past, the environmental future, and her present life inside the convent. How did she get to the Sacred Sisterhood? Why can’t she remember her life before? And what really happens when a woman is chosen as one of the Enlightened?

A searing, dystopian tale about climate crisis, ideological extremism, and the tidal pull of our most violent, exploitative instincts, this is another unforgettable novel from a master of feminist horror.

Agustina Bazterrica, born in Buenos Aires in 1974, has a degree in arts from the University of Buenos Aires and works as a cultural manager and jury member in various literary contests. She is the author of the short story collection Nineteen Claws and a Black Bird, and the novels Matar al niñaand Tender Is the Flesh, the latter of which was awarded the Clarín Novel Prize. Tender Is the Flesh established Bazterrica as a bestselling author worldwide, with translations into thirty languages and half a million copies sold in English alone. Tender Is the Flesh is currently being adapted for television. Her latest novel, The Unworthy, was published in Spanish in 2023 and received the same enthusiastic reception as Tender Is the Flesh, affirming Bazterrica’s status as a prominent author in contemporary literature.

Sarah Moses is a Canadian writer and translator from French and Spanish. She has translated work by Latin American authors including Tomás Downey and Ariana Harwicz, whose novel Die, My Love was longlisted for the International Booker Prize and shortlisted for the Republic of Consciousness Prize, the Premio Valle Inclán, and the Best Translated Book Award. The Unworthy is the third of Agustina Bazterrica’s books she has translated into English. Her collection of short fiction, Strange Water, will be published in the fall of 2024.

My Opinion

Agustina Bazterrica's The Unworthy is a dazzling dystopian religious fiction taking us to new depths of cult and religion. I have read the author's earlier works also and each one of them is just mind blowing. The Unworthy points out some glaring questions on how some people can deceive the world in the name of religion. The story is set in a futuristic world and creates an absolute dark aura around us making it more enjoyable. At the beginning the plot is medium paced giving us in depth information of the surroundings and characters. But, its the climax that is an unforgettable one.

The story will test your thoughts on religion and friendship. But, there are some brutal details that can be traumatic for the readers. Still, this will be an unmistakably the most wonderful reads of 2025. The book deserves 5 stars.

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