Nightbitch

Author: Rachel Yoder

Genre: Fiction, Horror

Format: Physical Purchase

Publish Date: July 2021

Read: July 2024

Favorite Quote: How many generations of women had delayed their greatness only to have time extinguish it completely? How many women had run out of time while the men didn’t know what to do with theirs? And what a mean trick to call such things holy or selfless. How evil to praise women for giving up each and every dream.

Story Synopsis: An artistic and ambitious woman inadvertently becomes a stay-at-home mother when the guilt of leaving her child at daycare consumes her. Two years later, she’s frustrated, unfulfilled, and brimming with unidentified rage. Her husband, ever the logical and rational engineer, loves her but thinks she might be understimulated and suggests finding other moms to connect with.

The rage is unrelenting and one day, the woman notices a dense patch of hair on the back of her neck. Each day, she grows more and more canine-like, even sprouting something resembling a tail. As she falls in with other moms who don’t actually have it all together as they appear, the mother finds solidarity in her art, with other moms, and in herself.

Why does this book beguile? I’d been hearing about Nightbitch since its release in 2021, most recently as it got greenlit to be turned into a movie. I decided to finally read it, and it was… interesting. The writing is vivid, and it’s fast-paced. I’d probably enjoy it more if I understood and could relate to the demands of motherhood, but much of that aspect—which is really the point of the book—was lost on me.

I’d love to learn what modern moms think of this book!

Rating: 3/5

Link*: Nightbitch by Rachel Yoder

If you’re interested in this, read*: The Forest Brims Over by Maru Ayase