Las Indignas by Agustina Bazterrica

2025-04-14

I’ve never been a huge horror fan, truth be told. I tend to be a bit of a scaredy-cat. Alien is about as intense as I usually go, and I mostly love that for the sci-fi. However, last year a friend insisted I read Mariana Enriquez’s short stories, and something about her writing just worked for me.

While I wouldn’t say I’m a full-blown horror cultist just yet, I’m definitely more open to exploring the genre. That’s how I ended up impulsively buying Las Indignas. I’d read a promising review, and there it was, practically begging me to buy it at my local bookshop.

The review suggested it was a cross between Mariana Enriquez and The Handmaid’s Tale, and I can definitely see those influences. There’s also a minimalistic and subtly teased post-climate apocalypse setting that I found captivating. It reminded me a little of Cormac McCarthy’s The Road. Bazterrica’s prose, with a first-person “found manuscript” narrative and disturbing combinations of adjectives, creates a very immersive experience that really benefits from being read in a couple of sittings. The atmosphere is almost hypnotic.

If you’re intrigued by dystopian fiction and can handle a blend of religious imagery and graphic violence, I’d recommend giving Las Indignas a try. It’s a quick, compelling read. And I’ll certainly be looking out for more of Bazterrica’s work in the future (which, by the way, is available in English).