Nightbitch

A Novel

By: Rachel Yoder

Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell

In this blazingly smart and voracious debut novel, an artist turned stay-at-home mom becomes convinced she's turning into a dog.

"A must-read for anyone who can’t get enough of the ever-blurring line between the psychological and supernatural that Yellowjackets exemplifies." (Vulture)

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 in to 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 multilevel-marketing scheme who may also be more than what they seem.

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.

©2021 Rachel Yoder (P)2021 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

A Best Book of the Year: Vulture and Esquire

“[A] wily and unrestrained debut.... You can feel Yoder breaking loose, too, like she’s just self-injected a serum mixed with her protagonist’s blood.... With its endorsement of a magical text as more cathartic than any mommy memoir, Nightbitch makes the case for itself, and for fiction that expands motherhood into new, surreal dimensions. I’ve seen myself in all the clever, recondite novels of beleaguered mothers. The moaning and groaning, the searching and yearning are real. Yoder sees a new way into the baser kinks of our animal selves, the ineffable bodily transformation of a woman into a mother. What is fiction for, if not blowing life up into the freakish myth it appears to be?” (The New Yorker)

"[Nightbitch] might well be the debut of the year. A feral fairy tale of maternal dissatisfaction, it’s best to go into this one knowing as little possible, the better to let Yoder work her devious magic on you." (Chicago Review of Books)

"All the cool-mom book groups - all the parent book groups, really - should read Nightbitch.... It feels like reading a deliciously long text from your smartest friend, with a hint of Kafka, if Kafka lived in the age of mommy bloggers and designer doggy raincoats. No need to be a parent, a dog owner, or a fan of magical realism to enjoy; Yoder writes about contemporary anxieties with so much intelligence and charm that she can cause you to reflect without spiraling into deep depression. That’s a feat, these days, greater than metamorphosis." (Glamour)

Mommy Meh

I listed to audio books at work to keep me up and moving, but this nearly put me to sleep. Yes, a few shock moments and even a couple laughs, but dreadfully slow, no real action or plot development. This mommy dearest descent into question to carnivore canine status had so much potential- and that’s coming from a vegetarian- but fell flat.

Perfection!!

Loved everything about this book. Cassandra Campbell deserves all the rewards for one of the best narrations ever.

Amazing

Wonderful writer - however this in no way is a humorous story. The only human that could categorize it as humorous would be one who has never given birth to a child. Lovely writing and SO MUCH truth.

Like nothing I’ve ever read

Weird and at times hard to imagine. But I like stuff like that! And in a strange way it does actually throw new light on feminism and empowering women

Divine

I was enthralled by this story. I am a mother who has felt almost everything articulated by the protagonist. I was deeply moved and I laughed and cried multiple times. I was so engulfed in this story that it breaks my heart I cannot experience the production described at the end. Love love love it. I think that at another time in my life, I would not have understood and perhaps would have been repulsed by parts of this, but as a mother to a 3 year old boy, this hit me deeply. Good art makes you feel something and it certainly did.

Supreme metaphor

I do think you love this or you don’t get it. My take is the author created a brilliant metaphor with which to tell the story of and also expose the utter violence and inequity of patriarchy and cis-het marriage/parenting. I found it so validating. I love night bitch so much.

You should read this

An incredible and engaging book full of insight and cutting truth. It's true the patriarch has taken one of the most powerful transformative experiences of humanity and diminishes it along with the person who makes it possible. Motherhood is savage and awakens a feral primal wisdom transforming the body and soul. And it's dehumanizing and abusive the way our society patronizes and dismisses the abilities and wisdom of the women who experience it. Motherhood doesn't erase you it enhances you. Take this book's message at heart and take back your power.

Not what I expected

I went into this book with very little concept of what it was about. Needless to say, it was strange but I really enjoyed it. I’m not a mother myself but I related very much to nightbitch. Mother or not, I think the need to escape civilized society can be found in every woman. I’d love to have one of those pins lol.

“You light a fire early in your girlhood."

Nightbitch is the story of a mother who in her exhaustion descends into madness, or freedom, depending on how you view the story. I was surprised that the top reviews for this book were mostly negative and dismissive, writing this novel off as a “mommy finds herself” story, and it is that but it’s also far more.
We watch as a mother loses herself and her desires and becomes disillusioned with the expectations of womanhood. Her frustration with her world grows into rage which manifest in her becoming a dog. I enjoyed the metaphor of this whole thing, and I think the depictions of violence were occasionally difficult to listen to but provided a necessary dichotomy between the woman’s desires and her responsibilities. I don’t believe the violence was used gratuitously for shock value often, but if I ever read this again my mind could change.
I think the story was at its best when the reader was unaware of the reality of the situation. I found myself wondering if this suburban mom was actually a dog or if she was simply going insane, but Rachel Yoder doesn’t leave much room for interpretation in the end of the story. I was frustrated by the ending because she spells out the themes of the book so blatantly, as if she doesn’t trust her own writing and ability to convey the message through the story. I’m not familiar with her other work, but I thought the themes and metaphors in this novel spoke for themselves. It’s very clear why this mother would be compelled to let lose of her animalistic desires and be free from the constraints of her life. I found myself relating to her rage and her tendency to swallow it, and I related to the desire to just be free of it all. I believe Yoder captures the frustration of many of our mothers beautifully without dismissing it as “selfless sacrifice” or “maternal love”. She conveys the pain that motherhood has caused while also viewing it as an act of godly creation. The choice to make her experiences an art piece was expected, but underwhelming for me personally. The ending felt rushed and anticlimactic, with people just accepting that this women becomes an animal and the main character explaining at length what the story has been telling us for the past seven hours. This really leaves little room for interpretation as I mentioned earlier. Overall this was a good story with very compelling themes, beautiful descriptions of complex emotions, and I enjoyed it very much although It could have been improved.
But the narration was awesome in my opinion, I think the voice fit the tone and sarcasm of the story very well.

Mother rage

For those moms who f feel weighed down by their own rage and conflict. The pull between never wanting to be away from our kids but resenting the lack of alone time. This makes you want to rewild yourself