Reviews with content warning for Excrement - Nightbitch

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Nightbitch by Rachel Yoder

38 reviews

izypup's review against another edition

emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

“She likes the idea of being a dog, because she can bark and snarl and not have to justify it. She can run free if she wants. She can be a body and instinct and urge. She can be hunger and rage, thirst and fear, nothing more. She can revert to a pure, throbbing state.”

Really sums up the books purpose. I think it really exemplifies yearning. I also liked how the husband isn’t irredeemable nor the son. They’re both frustrating but with potential and the mom even discussed how she let them both get away with things (albeit out of exhaustion and not wanting to fight, etc.)

There is animal cruelty and one particularly graphic scene but there is a lot of lead up to that one. I saw someone else say call it shock value. I think it was pretty inevitable. She describes returning to base instincts at times-dog instincts- and licking her son clean, drinking from bowls, eating with her mouth, etc. she it seems obvious she would ‘hunt prey’. And there was so much foreshadowing to

killing the cat. Her and the husband even joke about it (which I also loved because it was very real due to the absurdity of the scenarios they come up with).

The ending did fall flat for me which is mostly why it didn’t get 5 stars

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opossumble's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Content Warnings

tifftastic87's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Content warning: violent animal death, violent death of a pet, blood, gore, violence

Struggling to balance her emotions about her decision to leave her dream job to stay home with her young son, the mother finds herself feeling isolated, lonely and depressed. After finding she has sprouted hair in odd places, her teeth are getting sharper and she feels consumed with rage, the mother finds a book at the library about the transformations of women and she becomes Nightbitch.

This was written more like an essay on the complicated emotions that come with motherhood, household management, and the isolation of leaving your career to care for your child. However, it starts to evolve to become almost like a story you would hear around a campfire or a cautionary tale, as if the narrator is speaking directly to the reader. There was so much commentary on the rage that comes with managing a household, raising a small child, and having a sweet but never present husband. What do you do with all that rage? If you're Nightbitch you give in to your baser instincts and embrace the rage, the primal desires, and the violent nature of the world. I felt a lot while reading this, I think at times it was just a little slow and I don't know why but apparently changing into a dog to combat the patriarchy is a new idea and I am kind of here for it.

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refrejarator's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Horrific and feral. Absolutely loved it. Felt like a book ripped straight from my performance art classes in uni - and even referenced artists I studied! Feminist, artsy, and anti-MLM.

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