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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
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Violence, Gaslighting
Moderate: Body shaming, Confinement, Cannibalism
This is a quick, <200 page read that I devoured in a single day. Even as I felt the mounting, hollow hunger for something more substantial, I remained captive in its strange sisterhood of pain and ecstatic color. Blues, blackened nights, rust red. We do have a plot, but it's secondary to our narrator's character study. This is sometimes to the story's detriment, though her transformation over the course of all she endures is substantial. And she endures a lot: Bazterrica embraces the cult's many on-page terrors with zealous determination. Body horror fans, you're in the right place, and if you like it steeped in surrealism then so much the better.
But despite the prose pros, The Unworthy's attempts to comment on gender violence are sorely lacking. While I think it makes some poignant and occasionally touching points about misogyny and how abusers use catastrophe (those real and imagined) as cover to subjugate and control their victims, the impact ultimately rings...not hollow, exactly. But simplified, incomplete. One version of extreme suffering with minimal cultural nuance is presented as if all women endure the same cruelties at the same hands in the same way. A bit Gender Studies 101.
The star rating system fails me here because I can't easily convey that I both adored The Unworthy's prose and conceit and was simultaneously unsatisfied by the larger themes with a simple 3/5. If the description or my review intrigue you, give it a read. I think you'll come away with worthwhile conversation starters, even if the book itself bit off more than it can chew. So to speak.
I received this ARC in exchange for my honest review. Thank you, Scribner and NetGalley!
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Cannibalism, Abandonment
Minor: Excrement, Vomit, Pregnancy, Alcohol
Esta novela me dejó loca. La manera en que Bazterrica me atrapó en una sola sentada fue violenta. Como esperado, sus descripciones gráficas son horribles (de la mejor manera), y sus personajes son tan humanos que duele.
La crueldad humana toma protagonismo, pero Bazterrica se asegura que el amor y la sensibilidad contrasten a este protagonista. La personaje principal tiene todas estas características, lo que la hace una personaje demasiado interestante de seguir. En unos capítulos la amas, en otros la odias.
El mundo que Bazterrica creó también se siente muy real. Los misterios que lentamente son explicados durante la novela hacen que este mundo crezca. Se me hizo demasiado divertido tratar de adivinar los porques antes de que fueran revelados en la historia.
En resumen, amé esta novela. Junta perfectamente el género post-apocalíptico y una trama centrada en un culto religioso. Es mi nueva novela favorita de Bazterrica y se la recomiendo a todos los que le gustaron Cadáver exquisito.
Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Death of parent, Pandemic/Epidemic