Review by aeglaeca - The Unworthy

aeglaeca 's review for:

The Unworthy by Agustina Bazterrica

3.25

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

This is a weird one - it's very fever dream meets eco thriller meets religious/cult trauma, and not necessarily in a good way, for me at least. I'm often a fan of prose more on the poetic side, but the author went a bit too far with it. I felt like I was trying to put a puzzle together constantly, trying to figure out what was going, where and when the character was, and it got a bit frustrating after a while because it really disconnected me from the story flow and the characters. I felt nothing for them. The prose also didn't do nearly enough to flesh out the characters, and the world itself. As the reader, you do have a vague sense of what's happened, but it's not enough to make you excited to learn that the world may be recovering. Similarly, within the world of the convent, as the reader you're presented with many arbitrary rules, rituals, behaviours etc., but you don't get any explanation for it at all by the end. It was very disappointing, particularly since I'd been trying to put the puzzle together the whole time. With all of that said, I found things to respect in the book, for example the portrayal of a truly unreliable narrator, and it did keep me engaged and invested all the way through. I just really wish some parts of it were executed differently, especially after having read tender is the flesh. If you do decide to jump in, you've been warned.

Content Warnings