By: Rachel Yoder
“Her sense that society, adulthood, marriage, motherhood, all these things, were somehow masterfully designed to put a woman in her place and keep her there—this idea had begun to weigh on her.”
Rachel Yoder, Nightbitch
*This post contains spoilers for Nightbitch
After several attempts, I did not finish this book. This discussion and review is based off of roughly half of the novel.
Overview:
One day, the mother was a mother but then, one night, she was quite suddenly something else…
Nightbitch
At home full-time with her two-year-old son, an artist finds she is struggling. She is lonely and exhausted. She had imagined – what was it she had imagined? Her husband, always travelling for his work, calls her from faraway hotel rooms. One more toddler bedtime, and she fears she might lose her mind.
Instead, quite suddenly, she starts gaining things, surprising things that happen one night when her child will not sleep. Sharper canines. Strange new patches of hair. New appetites, new instincts. And from deep within herself, a new voice…
My thoughts before reading this book:
“This sounds like a cool idea”
“If I have to wait three months on Libby to get it, it must be good “
“They made a movie out of it so it has to be a thought-out story”
Me after reading this book:
“Why is everyone simultaneously the worst human ever”
“Did it take so long to get off Libby because NO ONE could have possibly finished it before their return date”
“I would never subject myself to a movie based off of this book”
Let’s get into it…
The choice to have the book written as if it is a research book is interesting. The main character is only referred to as “the mother” (later “nightbitch”) and not by her name. It is as if she is the subject matter and not a character in a story. It is definitely something different. However, simple things like chapter breaks, quotation marks or authors observations would have made it less dense.
This book is only about 250 pages but had it been formatted traditionally it would have been much longer so the shortness is only an illusion. It doesn’t make for a physically pleasant read.
The overall story is just not that interesting. The mother does the same thing everyday- struggle with her life and then complain about her circumstances.
This is a story about a woman either losing her mind and thinking she is turning into a dog or actually turning into a freaking dog. And yet… there is no real story or anything interesting to keep the reader engaged.
It is also impossible to connect with the mother. She is not relatable. Yes, emotions are complex especially after having a baby but other people deal with the same identity crisis in much more dire situations. It just feels a little tone deaf. The mother is not humble and gives off the impression that she deserves anything and everything. Those that seem to be struggling less don’t deserve their happiness because she dislikes her circumstances.
Overall,
I could not finish this book. I tried several times. Each attempt I was hoping to get to a turning point in the story but it never came. Perhaps I missed out by not reaching some twist or explanation but I don’t think anything could have saved this for me.
Also, if you want a good laugh, read the lower star Goodreads reviews. Those people are savage and hilarious.
Rating: 1/5 stars
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