The Unworthy by Agustina Bazterrica REVIEW

Summary:

From her cell in a mysterious convent, a woman writes the story of her life in whatever she can find—discarded ink, dirt, and even her own blood. A lower member of the Sacred Sisterhood, deemed an unworthy, she dreams of ascending to the ranks of the Enlightened at the center of the convent and of pleasing the foreboding Superior Sister. Outside, the world is plagued by catastrophe—cities are submerged underwater, electricity and the internet are nonexistent, and bands of survivors fight and forage in a cruel, barren landscape. Inside, the narrator is controlled, punished, but safe.

But when a stranger makes her way past the convent walls, joining the ranks of the unworthy, she forces the narrator to consider her long-buried past—and what she may be overlooking about the Enlightened. As the two women grow closer, the narrator is increasingly haunted by questions about her own past, the environmental future, and her present life inside the convent. How did she get to the Sacred Sisterhood? Why can’t she remember her life before? And what really happens when a woman is chosen as one of the Enlightened?

My Thoughts:

This was a really cool look at a post-apocalyptic cult. The narrator, whose name we don't know, is recounting her life at the Sacred Sisterhood, as well as her memories from before she was there. She is part of the Unworthy - which the Superior Sister and their "God" never let them forget. The higher ranks are the Chosen, the Minor Saints, the Aura, and the Enlightened. When an Unworthy does something wrong, the Superior Sister gleefully partakes in punishing them - whether it's a whipping or death. The narrator partakes in these inhumane customs, and even sometimes enjoys it. But when Lucia joins the Sisterhood, everything changes. Lucia is strong and doesn't let the other Unworthy humiliate her. Our narrator slowly falls in love with her, and then Lucia is given the rank of Enlightened. Unable to stomach the thought of being without Lucia, she plans to break her out of her room and escape together.

As always, I enjoyed the writing style and concept. A doomsday cult that formed after Doomsday. It also reads like a subtle critique of organized religion. The need to constantly call yourself unworthy of good things, the corruption in leadership, and violence. The critique is extremely hidden within the text, as the story of a dystopian future takes the center stage. I do wish that the novel was longer (it is less than 200 pages) and that we got to know a little more about what it was like in the world outside of the cult.

My Rating: 4 stars

Tender is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica REVIEW

 Summary:

Working at the local processing plant, Marcos is in the business of slaughtering humans - though no one calls them that anymore. His wife has left him, his father is sinking into dementia, and Marcos tries no to think too hard about how he makes a living. After all, it happened so quickly. First, it was reported that an infectious virus has made all animal meat poisonous to humans. Then governments initiated the "Transition". Now, eating human meat - "special meat" - is legal. Marcos tries to stick to numbers, consignments, processing.

Then one day he's given a gift: a live specimen of the finest quality. Though he's aware that any form of personal contact is forbidden on pain of death, little by little he starts to treat her like a human being. And soon, he becomes tortured by what has been lost - and what might still be saved.

My Thoughts:

When I first started reading this book, I didn't think that I would be able to finish it. But I did, so here we are.

From the start, you can tell that Marcos is not super happy with the way society is treating the "special meat", or as they call them, "heads". And his uneasiness grows throughout the book. That is what makes him such an interesting character.

Because of this, as well as probably missing someone to connect to, Marcos takes the gifted head and brings her into his home, treating her like a human being and even giving her a name: Jasmine.

His sister is the complete opposite of Marcos; she believes everything that the government says without question. She's annoying, but it makes sense to have a character like her in the story.

The ending was weird. He spent all this time humanizing Jasmine only to kill her in the end, which didn't make much sense.

Overall, this was an interesting concept to read about.

My Rating: 3.5 stars