Review by blacksphinx - The Unworthy

blacksphinx 's review for:

The Unworthy by Agustina Bazterrica

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

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.

Content Warnings