Our October book club was a horror read! We read Nightbitch by Rachel Yoder, a novel about a new mother turning into a dog. It deals with all the difficulties of being a mother, the expectations to be perfect as both a mother and a wife and how you can still manage to be an artist while doing all of this. I really enjoyed the mix of horror and existential questions and it gave us plenty to discuss. Not everyone enjoyed the book, which I totally get and some even thought it could have gone a little weirder.
I have more recommendations about the horrors of motherhood and strange creatures but always love to hear more. If you have any other recommendations, please leave them in the comments! I also have some discussion questions at the end just in case you're talking about this book with your own book club.
Reading recommendations for Nightbitch
Nightbitch is Rachel Yoder's first novel, but she mentioned Dept. of Speculation by Jenny Offill as one of her big inspirations. We love this book over at Bored to Death book club, but we can never mention it enough so here it is again! A novel in short snippets about being a new mother, being a writer and living in a world that feels super out of place.
In Nightbitch the main character finds a book called The Field Guide to Magical Women which is a collection of essays on magical women all across the world. It has such great descriptions that I wanted to read that book as well. What it reminded me of was Strange Beasts of China by Yan Ge, a book I read the previous month. It is set up in a similar way, every chapter the explanation of a strange beast, with a narrative thread that ties them all together.
Writing about horror and motherhood isn't new. Joy Williams was already doing this forty years ago in her novel The Changeling. We follow Pearl, a young mother drinking at a hotel bar with her infant son cradled in her arms. She fled from her abusing husband but is soon forced to go back. Dulling the pain with more drinking, we're shown the horror of childhood and motherhood in a new light.
Discussion questions for Nightbitch
- What is the horror in Nightbitch for you?
- How did you imagine the transformation into a dog? Was it real/fake etc. Describe the visuals!
- Why does the mother turn into a dog? Is there a significance to the use of this animal?
- Did the book change your opinion on parenthood in any way?
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