Reviews tagging 'Confinement'

The Unworthy by Agustina Bazterrica

148 reviews

forsakendaydreamer's review against another edition

5.0

dark mysterious sad fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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I loved this so much. I initially wanted to read it because I heard how brutal it was, but I didn't expect to love it. It is brutal and gut wrenching, but it's also beautiful, at least in my opinion. The only downside is that it can get repetitive, but I didn't really mind it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Torture, Violence

Moderate: Animal death, Confinement, Rape, Religious bigotry

echoesofstrdst's review against another edition

4.5

slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: N/A

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

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the unworthy is yet another amazing trip into the dark mind that is agustina bazterrica. written as a series of notes both to herself and whoever may find them later, the narrator leads the reader, through bazterrica’s incredible skill, through a twisted, cruel tale of love and loss, set in a brutal, vicious convent devoted to a mysterious figure in a world ravaged by climate change.

at times i found myself struck by how casual the violence was, which is not in itself unexpected for bazterrica, but the violence and cruelty in the unworthy, in my opinion, reached not just new heights but new intensity for the reader. the depiction of punishment and offering are one in the same in these pages, not an accident, but also somehow explicitly tied to and related to violence mainly women could ever face.

i thoroughly enjoyed the religious ritual and lore related to the Sisterhood and found myself wishing for more information on the Sisterhood itself. the world building in this book, for how short it is, is both phenomenal and attention-grabbing, leading the reader through a twisted journey.

the unworthy is a dark story told through violence as well as love. i very much enjoyed this book as a story of resilience, violence, change, and love. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Physical abuse, Rape, Torture, Violence, Murder, Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal death, Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Self harm, Pregnancy

hiveofbees's review against another edition

4.5

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Confinement, Physical abuse, Torture, Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal death, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Grief

Minor: Vomit, Death of parent, Pregnancy

arch_angl3's review against another edition

3.75

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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A lot of complicated feelings around this book. I think the gore got a bit repetitive, but part of me feels that was the point- to desensitize you to the horror happening. The ending left me emotionally gutted and raw in the best way though, and I really enjoyed it all around though. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Murder, Pregnancy

So many trigger warnings. It is a heavy book and does not pull punches.

mcplen's review against another edition

3.5

dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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If you can’t deal with body horror, look the other way. This book is very strange and disturbing. It’s the first of Bazterrica’s I’ve read, and it may be the last. I felt like the book was building to something bigger, something unexpected, but the ending felt predictable and mildly disappointing, and fell flat for me. I was hoping for some bold message, but it never revealed itself to me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Physical abuse, Self harm

Moderate: Confinement, Death, Gore, Rape, Blood

Minor: Animal death

yilliun's review against another edition

4.5

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Torture, Violence, Blood, Religious bigotry, Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child death, Confinement, Rape, Self harm, Sexual violence

Minor: Animal death, Death of parent

madisonrosehager's review against another edition

2.5

dark mysterious fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Diverse cast of characters: No

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Torture, Forced institutionalization

Moderate: Animal death, Body horror, Death, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Blood, Suicide attempt, Murder, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Pregnancy

readnrunml's review against another edition

5.0

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

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Brutal, poetic, horrifying 

love?

story about a woman in a convent-like society in a post apocalypse world. She meets a newcomer and reflects on her past life when she was wandering. I couldn't put this book down! A short and fast read although I wanted it to last!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Rape, Violence, Injury/Injury detail

though it's pretty gory it is hopeful in the end. I hope this is a first book in the series! The ending death(s) we're not explicitly known.

lisacanteven's review against another edition

4.0

dark tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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This was unexpected in many ways. Years after life seems to end, there is a group called the Sacred Sisterhood who live safely sequestered away from the world. There is a hierarchy that helps the women remain passive until things start to unravel with the arrival of a new woman. This is all portrayed through the journal of the narrator. There are no chapters because this is completely written by the narrator, which made it very different than most books. I usually would hate this, but the pacing worked so well. At the halfway point things started to make sense and I really enjoyed the ride.

I wouldn't compare this to Tender is the Flesh. Not much about it besides the genre is similar. Both are horror and both explore the horrors with which our world is headed for. The depravity is still there, although in The Unworthy it is more subtle than TITF. 

Does the dog die?

In this book the dog (cat in this case) does die, and it is a bit traumatic so prepare yourself.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Confinement, Death, Gore, Blood, Excrement, Murder, Injury/Injury detail

akardian's review against another edition

3.75

dark slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror

Moderate: Child death, Confinement, Rape, Torture, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder