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A review by ghostmomxoxo
Nightbitch by Rachel Yoder
3.0
I have so many thoughts about this book that it’s almost difficult to articulate… but let’s give it a go.
My main takeaway from this book was that I was left feeling very frustrated and aimless, I think mostly due to the fact that this book should be 100 pages shorter. Yoder does a really great job of expressing the thesis of the story very early on - motherhood is isolating and violent in ways that don’t feel suited for the human experience. The problem is that this thesis statement gets shoved in your face so often that it loses some of its impact. And just in case you missed it while working your way through the story: there is a painfully literal explanation of this concept on the second to last page.
I loved a lot of the writing in this book, and I felt as though I was really able to get inside the head of Nightbitch; Yoder does a really great job of creating these evocative and intense moments to the point where I felt like I was actually present for some of the scenes in the book. Also, I had to put the book down for an entire night because of the second hand embarrassment I got from one scene in particular.
I think Yoder really tried to combine magical realism with horror here, and missed the mark a bit, which is okay! I think the story would have been more enjoyable (at least for me) if she had really leaned in to the horror side of things.
My main takeaway from this book was that I was left feeling very frustrated and aimless, I think mostly due to the fact that this book should be 100 pages shorter. Yoder does a really great job of expressing the thesis of the story very early on - motherhood is isolating and violent in ways that don’t feel suited for the human experience. The problem is that this thesis statement gets shoved in your face so often that it loses some of its impact. And just in case you missed it while working your way through the story: there is a painfully literal explanation of this concept on the second to last page.
I loved a lot of the writing in this book, and I felt as though I was really able to get inside the head of Nightbitch; Yoder does a really great job of creating these evocative and intense moments to the point where I felt like I was actually present for some of the scenes in the book. Also, I had to put the book down for an entire night because of the second hand embarrassment I got from one scene in particular.
I think Yoder really tried to combine magical realism with horror here, and missed the mark a bit, which is okay! I think the story would have been more enjoyable (at least for me) if she had really leaned in to the horror side of things.