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A review by jamesbrainz
Nightbitch by Rachel Yoder
3.5
I’ll start by tentatively forgiving this for being a cishetero manifesto on divine femininity, because it’s fresh and dirty and not afraid to poke a little fun at its own absurdity in the beginning. The titular Nightbitch is white, cishet, and middle class and thus the narrative sets itself inside that framework, the generally privileged suburbanite life a seemingly necessary backdrop for the canine transformation. I won’t fault a book for not encompassing every conceivable presentation of a mother when that’s not its purpose, even though it speaks broadly of motherhood and the feminine interconnectedness of all mothers. It’s primarily a bizarre literary werewolf novel, not sociopolitical commentary.
Definitely drags in many places, but I understand the importance of making the reader sit with the mother’s routine as she has sat with it for the long years. A little repetitive and heavy-handed with its metaphors but does something quite fun with them at the end. Overall an interesting premise that makes you sit with its ideas for a time. Will be recommending to my mother in-law.
Definitely drags in many places, but I understand the importance of making the reader sit with the mother’s routine as she has sat with it for the long years. A little repetitive and heavy-handed with its metaphors but does something quite fun with them at the end. Overall an interesting premise that makes you sit with its ideas for a time. Will be recommending to my mother in-law.