Reviews tagging 'Misogyny'

The Unworthy by Agustina Bazterrica

47 reviews

camsara99's review against another edition

4.25

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Religious bigotry, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail

jessicajernigan's review against another edition

4.0

dark sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Misogyny, Sexual violence, Torture

libraryofavirgo's review against another edition

4.0

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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This book has been on my tbr since the translation was first announced, I cannot explain how ecstatic I was when I got the notification of being approved for this arc. Agustina Bazterrica is one of those authors who just never fails to deliver exactly what she sets out for in a book; The Unworthy being no exception. 

Continuing to probe at the intersections of power, body autonomy, and ethics, Bazterrica now takes us into a religious convent of women set in an apocalyptic world. The Unworthy is a true look into the nature of what it means to be a woman in faith; where our bodies become the target of ideology and control, where complete and total submission is not only expected but required and enforced by all means necessary. Bazterrica’s writing style is one of my favorites; the way she can so effortlessly encapsulate the reader into the novel as if we are sitting alongside the narrator ourselves. This novel invoked a sense of unease that feels less like fiction and more like a reality. 

The Unworthy is a true masterpiece and something that will linger in my mind for the foreseeable future. I cannot recommend this or any of Bazterrica’s other works enough. As always with horror novels, please check trigger warnings and read at your own discretion. 

Thank you Scribner, Simon and Schuster, and Agustina Bazterrica for the opportunity to read and review this book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Confinement, Gore, Misogyny, Violence, Blood, Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal death, Religious bigotry

Minor: Sexual assault, Pandemic/Epidemic

mirnda's review against another edition

5.0

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Stunning from the first sentence to the last. This is a deliciously dark and harrowing tale of finding love and hope even in the most bleak situations. Where Tender Is the Flesh made me lose hope in humanity, this book, strangely, made me feel more hopeful that we still have a chance. Its commentary is not quite as sharply focused as Tender Is the Flesh, but I don't think that's actually a weakness, just a difference. I loved every moment of this, and came close to crying - and I don't cry at books! Beautifully written and translated, this story slowly unravels itself in lush horror.

Thank you to NetGalley and to Scribner for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Death, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Confinement, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Child death, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicide, Excrement, Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, War

blacksphinx's review against another edition

4.0

challenging dark emotional 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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Thank you so much to Scribner and NetGalley for giving me this ARC in exchange for my review. 

My feelings about this novel are conflicted. I feel if you've seen any horror media featuring a cult

of women run by a man

or people trying to survive post-climate-collapse, this book won't bring anything new to the table. It's also epistolary, and I kept getting stuck on how our protagonist was able to keep finding paper and keeping her journal hidden. I wondered if the story might be better off as regular first-person instead.

And yet... I finished this book before going to bed and I dreamed about its imagery. I didn't think it was scary in the moment, but clearly this book got under my skin. I found it to be oddly beautiful? I liked how our protagonist developed a stronger personality as she regained her memories from before she joined the House of the Sacred Sisterhood, and her goals also shifted accordingly. I actually really liked the way things shook out in the end. 

While it didn't give me the "creepy evil nuns" vibes I was looking for, I'm still glad I read it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Emotional abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, Murder, Classism, Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Confinement, Drug abuse, Misogyny, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Death of parent, Pregnancy

Minor: Bullying, Pedophilia, War

n_li_re's review against another edition

4.0

challenging dark tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

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Desde la primera página te envuelve en una atmósfera opresiva, agobiante, que ahoga, incluso algo nauseabunda. El lenguaje atrapa al lector tanto como lo hace la secta. Ojalá no acabar en un futuro así, incluso aunque en esas circunstancias haya un pequeño hueco para el amor.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Religious bigotry

Moderate: Sexual content, Slavery, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Injury/Injury detail

lusimusi's review against another edition

4.5

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

Loveable characters: Yes

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Hace tiempo que no leía un libro tan raro (en el buen sentido), no se cómo explicarlo pero es que esta novela no te deja ir, te atrapa completamente. Solo quieres seguir leyendo para entenderlo y cuando lo entiendes es increíble (en mi opinión).
Para mí sigue siendo mejor "Cadáver exquisito" porque prefiero saber lo que estoy leyendo pero la confusión que sientes al leer esté libro es justo lo que te hace seguir leyendo y lo que te atrapa.
El final también es genial y creo que se ata todo muy bien pero siguiendo con la ambigüedad del resto del libro.

"Lloré por la escuela a la que no asistí, por los libros que no leí, por los hermanos que no tuve, por el padre que no conocí, por mi madre resplandeciente y tiesa en el piso frío de una cocina que ya no existe, una casa que fue derrumbada por los tornados, las inundaciones, la tierra incapaz de sostener los cimientos."

"¿Por qué me importa tanto si el tiempo y el espacio desaparecen cuando el mundo está deshecho?"

"Voy a dejar este libro de la noche, estos papeles que escribo y cuido hace tanto tiempo, en el hueco del árbol, de nuestro árbol. Quizás, algún día, alguien los descubra y los lea, o se humedezcan y vuelvan a su origen, a la madera de donde surgieron, y estas palabras se conviertan en bosque, se purifiquen con la savia, se iluminen en las raíces. O quizás se desintegren en una nada que acaricia, 
gobierna, 
duele."

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Drug abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Murder