One day, the mother was a mother, but then one night, she was quite suddenly something else…
An ambitious mother puts her art career on hold to stay at home with her newborn son, but the experience does not match her imagination. Two years later, she steps into the bathroom for a break from her toddler’s demands, only to discover a dense patch of hair on the back of her neck. In the mirror, her canines suddenly look sharper than she remembers. Her husband, who travels for work five days a week, casually dismisses her fears from faraway hotel rooms.
As the mother’s symptoms intensify, and her temptation to give into her new dog impulses peak, she struggles to keep her alter-canine-identity secret. Seeking a cure at the library, she discovers the mysterious academic tome which becomes her bible, “A Field Guide to Magical Women: A Mythical Ethnography,” and meets a group of mommies involved in a multi-level-marketing scheme who may also be more than what they seem.
Book Summary
An outrageously original novel of ideas about art, power and womanhood wrapped in a satirical fairy tale, Nightbitch will make you want to howl in laughter and recognition. And you should. You should howl as much as you want.
Rachel Yodel’s “Nightbitch” is a literary enigma that weaves together elements of magical realism, psychosis, and a profound exploration of motherhood. It’s as if you made a green smoothie featuring MLM vitamin scams, Kafka’s “Metamorphosis,” Plath’s “The Bell Jar,” and the quirky moments found in pregnancy manuals. This narrative unfolds in the backdrop of our everyday world but is frequently interrupted by haunting glimpses of reality through the eyes of our unnamed narrator, who appears to have undergone a frightening and bizare transformation.
The novel kicks off with with prose that grips your senses and emotive run-on sentences that capture the hectic and anxiety-fueled survival mindset of the main character, a mother who chose to give up her career to raise her son. But as the tale unfolds, it takes a peculiar turn … and then another …. and another … The woman turns into a dog. So she thinks. Or maybe she really does? This is one of the central puzzles of this novel, and its portrayal through the sleep-deprived and unreliable voice of the narrator is executed extremely well.
The “dog” in this story is not your typical tail-wagging companion; it’s a creature that straddles the line between the canine and the nightmarish. Expect a few unsettling scenes involving small animal deaths, including a particularly gruesome cat demise. These moments can be quite disconcerting, making it challenging to fully sympathize with our protagonist as she grapples with her newfound identity. The cat murder in particular seemed unnecessary, and definitely made me lose a lot of sympathy for the main character.
“Nightbitch” delves into various themes, including society’s poor implementation of contemporary feminist ideals for working women, and the absence of vital community support. This is one of the best aspects of the novel, expertly pitting the unique, modern challenges of a fundamentally sexist society at odds with the main character’s own perception of herself and her value. It demonstrates how the logical, but emotionally detached husband is dramatically less affected by the major life change of bringing a child into the world, contrasted with ludicrous expectations for the main character to downplay the challenges and, frankly, trauma of childbirth and child-rearing. It underscores the effect of emotional and physical exhaustion on the primary parent, the isolation from former friends, and the expectation of always being “perfect”.
The beginning of the narrative feels like a poignant journey into the protagonist’s unraveling psyche, which I expected to culminate in themes about postpartum depression and psychosis, and the failures of society to support women after childbirth. However, it takes an unexpected (to me) detour into the realm of performance art, leaving readers pondering the story’s true purpose.
While “Nightbitch” introduces several maternal characters, our narrator is the sole protagonist experiencing these bewildering events. One might question why her story holds such significance, and why her experience resonates so profoundly with others. The protagonist’s introspective tendencies can make her relatable initially, but her lack of proactive efforts or attempts to reach out to others can also be frustrating to read. Her descent into animal cruelty serves as a tipping point, distancing us from her plight.
In summary, “Nightbitch” is a perplexing journey into the realms of motherhood and madness. While its unconventional narrative style and unpredictable trajectory may not suit all tastes, the initial chapters offer a captivating literary experience well worth exploring. This is a story that defies expectations and challenges the boundaries of literary convention.
In The Library 