Reviews tagging 'Gaslighting'

Nightbitch by Rachel Yoder

21 reviews

sadiaa's review against another edition

2.5

• Exploration into postpartum depression, isolation and loneliness, unequal division of labour and the  resentment comes with it.
• Sally rooney-esque where she doesn't use quotation marks when characters are speaking to each other 
• The main character isn't named, only called the mother or nightbitch
• Weird tangents 
• Not what I was expecting, not for me

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Mental illness, Blood, and Gaslighting

virgcole398's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective tense

• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

This book further justifies my decision to never have children.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, and Gore

Moderate: Sexism, Toxic relationship, and Gaslighting

saramassoudi's review against another edition

dark funny tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cursing, Gore, Violence, and Blood

Minor: Misogyny, Excrement, Pregnancy, and Gaslighting

lavieenrose's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Gore, Xenophobia, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Body horror, Child abuse, Cursing, Drug use, Sexual content, Violence, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Dysphoria

Minor: Excrement, Abandonment, and Alcohol

laurenmiller100's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

3.5

• Characters: 6
• Atmosphere/Setting: 7
• Writing Style: 8
• Plot: 7
• Intrigue: 6
• Logic/Relationships: 6
• Enjoyment: 5

This is a pretty weird book. I think it’s ideas paint motherhood in a really important way though and I found myself enjoying Nightbitch’s journey.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Sexism, Violence, and Blood

Minor: Excrement, Pregnancy, and Gaslighting

abicaro17's review against another edition

challenging dark inspiring reflective slow-paced

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

3.0

This book is real weird. Nightbitch is a former artist and current stay at home mom who is struggling to understand how stay at home moms stay sane without adult activities. As her husband is usually away during the week and unhelpful during the weekend, Nightbitch beings to imagine her attitude and temper is because she's turning into a dog. This book is dense. As 75% of the characters don't have names and the quarter that do are mostly named Jen, its a lot of third person narratives and pronouns. On top of the hard to keep track of characters, this book is feminist in a super cool and weird way but also so incredibly off putting. She is literally a "bitch" but she also doesn't care. Im not sure who I would recommend this too but I think with the right audience it would be a hit. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, Violence, Blood, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Gore, and Blood

Moderate: Body horror, Cursing, and Violence

Minor: Cancer, Drug use, Mental illness, Excrement, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Classism

torturedreadersdept's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Cursing, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Blood, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail

evaaaarrrgghhh's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

Loved - but hated the ending even though I KNOW IT WAS A HAPPY ENDING. Like, the absolutely beautiful breakdown of patriarchal hierarchies becoming 'default' even when consciously fought against. This story felt so deeply painful for me - the horror is that even when we fight it, the heteronormative patriarchal dynamic will settle over us like a blanket and suffocate us and we will have nobody to blame but ourselves for becoming tired of fighting (I'll cry Y WE GOTTA JUST KEEP FIGHTING ALL THE TIME AND THE MOMENT WE R TIRED IT ALL HAPPENS ANYWAY UGHHHHHHH)

 

Like fr just eat the man and the child I've had ENOUGH why is the happy ending that she just had to ask for help and he was fine with helping I HATE IT HERE EAT HIM EAT THEM ALL

 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Gore, and Gaslighting

stomachpains's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Mental illness, Violence, Blood, and Gaslighting