I was excited to pick up The Unworthy, having been deeply affected by Agustina Bazterrica’s Tender Is the Flesh and its disturbing vision of a dystopian society. Once again, Bazterrica crafts a chilling, thought-provoking world—this time centering on a ruthless religious order operating in the midst of global turmoil.

The novel centers on an unnamed young woman confined within a rigid and oppressive convent ruled by the Sacred Sisterhood. Branded as an "unworthy," she is forced to endure harsh rituals and strict hierarchies while desperately striving to earn a place among the revered Enlightened. Isolated and silenced, she secretly records her thoughts and experiences in a forbidden diary, scrawling her truth with whatever materials she can find—discarded ink, dirt, even her own blood— no matter how crude or desperate.

Bazterrica’s writing is both haunting and poetic, pulling readers deep into the grim reality of the protagonist’s existence. She has a rare talent for crafting dystopian worlds that feel disturbingly plausible—less like an imagined future and more like a hidden truth lurking beneath the surface. Her storytelling doesn’t just depict bleak realities; it immerses you in them, making every brutal detail feel urgent and unavoidable. The Unworthy once again blurs the line between fiction and foresight, leaving readers unsettled by how easily her nightmarish vision could become our own. Told through diary entries, the narrative feels intimate and immediate, heightening the novel’s emotional impact—I couldn’t put it down and finished it in one sitting!

Having grown up Catholic, I found that the religious rituals in The Unworthy, though grotesque and extreme, struck a deeply unsettling chord. Agustina Bazterrica draws from her own experiences in Catholic school, where she witnessed a stark contrast between the ideals of love and the often cruel reality of human behavior. While some aspects were definitely hyperbolic, they didn’t lessen the novel’s impact—though they may be more divisive for certain readers.

Overall, The Unworthy is a harrowing and hypnotic read, one that lingers long after the final page. Bazterrica masterfully weaves horror and social commentary into a narrative that is both visceral and thought-provoking, forcing readers to confront unsettling questions about faith, power, and survival. Her ability to create immersive, nightmarish worlds makes this novel an unflinching and unforgettable experience. Fans of Tender Is the Flesh or dystopian fiction that pushes boundaries will find much to admire here.