A book a day: Agustina Bazterrica: the unworthy

Language: español

Year of publication: 2023

Valoración: quite advisable

What happens within the walls of a convent has always given a lot of play in fiction: struggles for power, fanaticisms, humiliations, prohibited passions … in short, various salseos, which is said; This can be verified in novels such as, to mention only two reviewed in this inimitable blog, Crewe’s abbess o Extramural. The one that comes out in The unworthy It is not a Catholic convent; Not even a beguinage -if it is well located in an old monastery -but so much. Or even better like that for those who read this novel, because the cult followed by the protagonists of it, although inspired, at least in terms of forms, in the Catholic Church, allows, and is even founded, on the sacrifice, corporal punishment, hierarchical domination and even sadomasochism … elements totally oblivious to any variant of Christianity, as we all know, without any doubt. But they are the most tasty to dress any religious horror narration, which, after all, is what we find in this novel.

Convent, then (allow me to call it thus, for comfort), called by its inhabitants the house of the Sacred Brotherhood – it is its “congregation” – and that for them it is a refuge in the middle of a world ravaged by environmental disasters, the poisoning of nature, wars for basic resources such as water, contagious disease still generalized. That is, a post-apocalyptic dystopia to which, on the other hand, we seem to go without too much concern. Thus, a multitude of girls are arriving at that shelter and integrating into a religious community hierarchized in a very rigid way: he is the highest, he finds herself, The only man in the place, A kind of always hidden prophet and that leaves the organization and, above all, the administration of the discipline to the iron and inclement – or directly sadistic – superior sister (to which I imagine as a kind of Lady Dimitrescu, I confess). This governs on an undetermined number of unworthy -that we could consider novice -among which they are chosen, from time to time, the chosen ones, -full, diaphanous of spirit and holy minors -, with alleged powers but that are mutilated to enhance them and the perfect and clairvoyant illuminated. All have as maids the impure and even deformed server, the lowest caste within this particular closed female microcosm – or almost – over itselfin which, as anyone can assume, envy, quarrels and play, punished, when the responsible ones are trapped, or the unrestants, that it seems to give a little the same – with a vicinity and cruelty exorbitant, but very appropriate to govern the community with iron and terror.

All this we know through an unworthy one who writes his story, sometimes using his own blood, an unnamed narrator and, although I dare not say that unreliable, of course partial and subjective. It is not a saint; Although we empathize with her, he does not stop sharing bad feelings, worse purposes and delightful acts. Something saves her, however (I will not say what) to become the bad in history or one of them in a narrative in which they do not scarce. With little justification, if you want, given the difficult circumstances. The other thing that saves the narrator-star of falling into the meanness inherent to survival is the lyrical aura that surrounds all the narrative-we remember that it is told in the first person-that way of telling the story with which Bazterric those who can remind us: from The road (or any other postpocalyptic narrative to use) to Hellraiser u -Obviously- any chalaura of the Marquis de Sade, in the case of the most terrifying moments BDSM. It also has something to remember The maid’s storyin the rigid hierarchy of women and the functions they must fulfill and, of course, of the entire most gothic-religious terror narrative, which is not scarce, precisely … Or even, if we take into account non -literary references, a touch of Mad Max. Fury Road (Let’s see, yes, each one has their filias), although of course without war trucks or rock guitarists throwing flames. It doesn’t matter, the references are multiple but the result is unequivocal: an intense and disturbing novel, impregnated with an aroma between magical and hallucinogen, also perhaps something toxic, which helps its reading leave a fingerprint difficult to erase. There will be those who prefer to forget it, of course, but I suspect that it will be difficult …

Also from Agustina Bazterrica in a book a day: Exquisite corpse