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I'd heard a lot of buzz about Tender is the Flesh, but looking at the author's other work, this novel appealed to me more. I picked it up out of curiosity, and I was hoping it would have something interesting to say about community and climate. Overall, this book does do that, to some extent. There is a sense of community and there is a change in our narrator over time. However, I wanted a little more thematic unity and a stronger message about how violence and environmental collapse went together, so for that reason, this book gets a middling rating for me.
WRITING: I can't speak to how well the translator interprets the original Spanish of the novel, so my review will be evaluating the English-language edition and the effect it had on me as a reader.
Overall, I thought the writing was incredibly evocative and visceral. I found myself feeling disgust, which was intended, but also spellbound at the small moments of beauty. Bazterrica does a good job of moving from one extreme to the other, and I liked seeing the world unfold through the protagonist's eyes.
PLOT: The plot of this book follows an unnamed woman who is secretly recording the events of her life following global environmental collapse. The woman lives in a violent religious cult composed of all women and led by a faceless man. The cult has a strict hierarchy and the narrator is part of the group called "the unworthy" - a step above the servants and who are eligible for promotion, of sorts. When a new member, Lucia, arrives, the narrator starts to question the authority of her order while also recovering her memories of the past.
This book is bleak. The violence and control and hostility between people is incredibly depressing, and it seems as though all sense of compassion goes out the window in the face of disaster. However, there are small moments of brightness, and the end of this book is somewhat hopeful.
I do wish, however, there was a little more thematic unity between the narrator's past and present. Don't get me wrong, there are some nice thematic parallels, but I think this book could have thought more about the connection between societal collapse, the environment, violence, ideological conformity, and patriarchy. Why is it, for example, that environmental and societal collapse leads to religious extremism and male dominance? How does the state of the environment threaten that control? Why do so many women throw their lots in with these people? I think some of those questions are gestured at, but since this book was so short, there was plenty of room for further exploration.
CHARACTERS: Our unnamed narrator and protagonist is interesting in that she has a hidden past, but she's also compelling because we see her get more and more rebellious over time. I enjoyed seeing her seize little moments for herself and exhibit more and more compassion as she grew closer to Lucia.
I do think, however, that the narrator and Lucia's relationship could have been developed more, as could the narrator's relationship with the figures from her past. I didn't quite get a sense of emotional intimacy from these relationships, probably because it felt like we don't spend too much time with those other characters, building up their connection.
Side characters were fine. The other members of the religious order were about as complex as they needed to be without distracting from the main narrative. We don't ever really learn much about who the male leader of the order is, and I'm not sure if doing so would have enhanced the story or not. I dunno - it's hard because I think the scope of the story is fine, but I wanted a little more out of it.
TL;DR: The Unworthy is an interesting novel about the bleak ways humans form communities after a disaster and how real connection can offer hope. However, this book also poses some questions that it doesn't take time to explore.
WRITING: I can't speak to how well the translator interprets the original Spanish of the novel, so my review will be evaluating the English-language edition and the effect it had on me as a reader.
Overall, I thought the writing was incredibly evocative and visceral. I found myself feeling disgust, which was intended, but also spellbound at the small moments of beauty. Bazterrica does a good job of moving from one extreme to the other, and I liked seeing the world unfold through the protagonist's eyes.
PLOT: The plot of this book follows an unnamed woman who is secretly recording the events of her life following global environmental collapse. The woman lives in a violent religious cult composed of all women and led by a faceless man. The cult has a strict hierarchy and the narrator is part of the group called "the unworthy" - a step above the servants and who are eligible for promotion, of sorts. When a new member, Lucia, arrives, the narrator starts to question the authority of her order while also recovering her memories of the past.
This book is bleak. The violence and control and hostility between people is incredibly depressing, and it seems as though all sense of compassion goes out the window in the face of disaster. However, there are small moments of brightness, and the end of this book is somewhat hopeful.
I do wish, however, there was a little more thematic unity between the narrator's past and present. Don't get me wrong, there are some nice thematic parallels, but I think this book could have thought more about the connection between societal collapse, the environment, violence, ideological conformity, and patriarchy. Why is it, for example, that environmental and societal collapse leads to religious extremism and male dominance? How does the state of the environment threaten that control? Why do so many women throw their lots in with these people? I think some of those questions are gestured at, but since this book was so short, there was plenty of room for further exploration.
CHARACTERS: Our unnamed narrator and protagonist is interesting in that she has a hidden past, but she's also compelling because we see her get more and more rebellious over time. I enjoyed seeing her seize little moments for herself and exhibit more and more compassion as she grew closer to Lucia.
I do think, however, that the narrator and Lucia's relationship could have been developed more, as could the narrator's relationship with the figures from her past. I didn't quite get a sense of emotional intimacy from these relationships, probably because it felt like we don't spend too much time with those other characters, building up their connection.
Side characters were fine. The other members of the religious order were about as complex as they needed to be without distracting from the main narrative. We don't ever really learn much about who the male leader of the order is, and I'm not sure if doing so would have enhanced the story or not. I dunno - it's hard because I think the scope of the story is fine, but I wanted a little more out of it.
TL;DR: The Unworthy is an interesting novel about the bleak ways humans form communities after a disaster and how real connection can offer hope. However, this book also poses some questions that it doesn't take time to explore.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal death, Child death, Death, Rape, Sexual violence
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Torture, Religious bigotry, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal death, Child death, Rape, Sexual content, Abortion, Murder, Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Mental illness
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Torture, Violence, Blood
Moderate: Death, Physical abuse, Rape, Murder, Classism
Minor: Animal death, Child death, Suicide, Death of parent
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This was a fast read. From the beginning we don’t know much about the main character, but throughout the novel we learn her story. I thought it was interesting that we never learned her name. There is a strong sense of character development, although at times it is still hard to sympathize with her.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse, Torture, Violence
Moderate: Animal death, Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, Religious bigotry
Minor: Pregnancy, War
sad
fast-paced
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death
dark
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Rape, Sexual assault
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
This was a big miss for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
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
indescribably beautiful
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Confinement, Death, Misogyny, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood
challenging
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Rape, Torture
Minor: Sexual content
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Where was the plot???
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror
Moderate: Animal death