Wolf Moon: A Woman's Journey into the Night

by Arifa Akbar

'This imaginative and empathetic book will probably not guide you to better sleep, but it will be a fine companion for the wakeful hours'
GUARDIAN

'A rich kaleidoscope of a book in which a series of visions emerge from the shadows'
FINANCIAL TIMES

'A celebration of the exuberance of night-time and a moving portrait of the dangers of the dark'
THE TIMES

'A beautifully written combination of personal reflection and broader thought . . . at once atmospheric and touching'
Louise Doughty, author of Apple Tree Yard

The night is a time of darkness and nightmares, fear and vulnerability, especially for women. And, yet, it is another world, full of beauty and possibility, too.

After the sun goes down, insomnia and sleep paralysis do threaten. But some have always walked the nocturnal landscapes, with more or less confidence. Others have worked, night shifts and hidden night nurses, security guards, sex workers. And some have found solace in the darkness, from queer rave culture to religious pre-dawn traditions.

From dusk through to day, Arifa Akbar elegantly explores how the night shapes our bodies, minds and cultures. A personal and artistic journey from fear and into hope, Wolf Moon embraces the dark before bringing us, once more, into the light.

'Had me entranced from start to finish . . . an absolute joy'
Lucy Atkins, author of Windmill Hill

'A deft, rich and intimate exploration of darkness in all its varied guises'
Annabel Abbs, author of Sleepless

'Truthful, lyrical and unforgettable'
Yasmin Alibhai-Brown

Genres: Nonfiction

Audible Audio

Published July 3, 2025

Reviews

[Helen · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fascinating book. Unlike anything I have ever read before. Non-fiction that reads like a fictional dream world. It’s really quite beautiful.

[Violet · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had requested this ARC ages ago and had forgotten what it was about, and was delighted with this non-fiction book about the dark and women especially. The only other book I have read about darkness, The Darkness Manifesto, by Johan Eklöf, focused on nature and light pollution. Arifa Akbar is more focused on the urban darkness and night life, as a theatre reviewer she is accustomed to walking home alone after midnight and reflects on what this means as a woman. She covers a lot in this little book: late night comedy clubs in Lahore, sex workers, serial killers (Jack the Ripper and later the Yorkshire Ripper), Reclaim the Night walks, Clare nuns waking up at midnight to pray together, art, clubbing, security guards... It's a really good book and I enjoyed its mix of art critic with social commentary on class. It was well written and well researched.

Free ARC sent by Netgalley.

[W.S. Luk · Rating 4 out of 5]

"I want the dark to remain animated, alive with possibility and interpretation."

This cultural history of the night approaches it from a woman's perspective, unfolding not just the science and statistics behind how sleep or working night shifts affect women, but also how their interactions with different aspects of the night are represented in culture. Akbar's personal and family memories (perhaps unsurprisingly considering her day job as a theatre critic, I was particularly captivated by a sequence about Akbar watching a 24-hour-long experimental play) are blended compellingly with wider sociological and cultural research, even if this book's tangent-heavy structure makes for one or two unfocused sections. WOLF MOON offers a way for us to rethink the night not as a time when we're simply asleep and absent from the world, but as a teeming nexus of dangers, dreams, and possibilities.

[Ella Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

"I am surprised by how soothing it felt, and how safe. There were no shadows, no sense of animation, and ironically, nothing for my imagination to take hold of and interpret [...] To me, it felt dead, comfortably untextured like a thick, warm, enveloping blanket thrown over the eyes."

What a stunning novel; Arifa Akbar captures the beauty, threat, surrealism, and magic of the night and presents it in a form that is easily devoured. Her personal dialogue backed up by scientific research, studies, and observations, makes it informative yet balanced - at no point did it feel like a scientific slog. Akbar's novel is precise, even throughout the wide range of topics covered, such as sleep deprivation, female homelessness, sleep paralysis, sex workers, Berlin nightclubs, and Jack the Ripper, she always intricitaley weaves in the core of the book: the dark.

I was captivated instantly by the novel's first look at sleep deprivation, whether through night shift work or sleep paralysis. Akbar discusses the effect of shift work on Alzheimers, relating to her father, as well as bringing in her own experience as a theatre critic watching 24-hour plays. She references sleep as "a winged creature of jet black feathers and shining, I inscrutable eyes that were hard as zirconia." She effortlessly personifies a psychological happening, much like Porter does in Grief is the Thing With Feathers. The scientific studies that she credits read like creative writing so that it becomes reachable, educational but not intimidating or over saturated with facts.

The hook of the novel for a lot of readers will be that not only is Akbar delving into an unknown world of nighttime, but specifically how women's relationships with it have evolved and what it means to be a woman in the dark. In a time where novels like this are flourishing (How Women Listen by Alice Vincent, and Why Women Walk by Annabel Abbs) Akbar presents this one with grit; she pulls on vast elements of women's relationships with art, society, murder, men and each other, to add charisma to a wildly different perspective of a novel. How the author maintains engagement with readers in such a wide range of topics is a true skill.

This is a modern novel where Akbar faces the hard truths about our current society where women are afraid to go outside alone at night: "The city's back streets [...] are not filled with the fantastical monsters I have grown up hearing about in folk tales, [...] but the very real hazard of murderously angry men." She likens this to Dracula, wondering if the fear of these "imaginary, diabolical creatures feeding off the blood of women in this case - are not as far-fetched as they seem, but are warnings of what reality might hold." Akbar delves deeper into the psyche mirroring this with Jack the Ripper, wondering if his 'viscous eviserations' were, in fact, an "expression of self-loathing too? An unconscious desire to crush the organs that had given birth to him?" The jump from sleep paralysis to Jack the Ripper reawoke a freshness within the book. So, it's not just about irrational cerebral activity? Or how the population of rough sleepers in London are primarily women? It's not just about the author's own fear of the dark? It's about so much more than that.

Akbar boldy holds women as victims, as survivors, and as individuals empowered to reclaim darkness, bringing in events from recent years like the Take Back the Night marches across Leeds. Unlike a lot of science based and factual books, I actually felt like I retained information when reading this one. I was engaged the whole way through, brought to life by new topics that weaved together effectively. It could very easily have been too much information or jumped too broadly between sex work and the six month darkness in Svalbard, but Akbar arranged it beautifully. She provides depth into each topic, without rushing, and makes each point relevant.

Akbar personifies darkness and the various holds it has on us as individuals and as a society. She says that our fears are born of "suggestive shadows and glooming light," that it's not about what lurks within the darkness but about having to confront it. The darkness represents the parts of our own minds that we don't wish to address. After flexing the reader's mind to reconsider what they thought they knew about the moon and women's sleep cycles, or the calls of particular birds at night, Akbar draws us to the conclusion that we can look to the darkness for protection, for comfort and safety; we just need to rephrase the way we see it.
"Keep walking into darkness, I tell myself. The city is still mine."

[Debby Binns · Rating 3 out of 5]

I listened to this on BBC Sounds - it was hugely interesting but I think would have been better as a full book rather than the abridged version. In essence its about the enchantment and fear that darkness holds for women.

[Catherine Jeffrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

A journey into the author’s fear of the dark and her relationship with the night growing up. But it is also a fascinating exploration into the world of those who work, perform or even pray through the night.

[Donna Holland · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed this read about night time. I’m an insomniac so can relate to the difficulties this brings. The author covers everything from shift workers,city nightlife,and the beauty but terror of the dark .
The most powerful section is about women reclaiming the night and how our nocturnal landscape does not allow us to walk with confidence.
From rave culture to religious pre dawn traditions the night is explored and how it shapes our minds ,bodies and culture.
A fascinating read ,recommended.

[Kenny Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is fabulous and deserves way more attention. I'll write a better review when I get a chance.

[Francis Pellow]

R4 Book of the week. Very interesting

[Paul Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

If this doesn't prove to be my favourite book of the year, I will be surprised. A fascinating look into darkness and the particular risks and pleasures that it can present, especially to women.

[Justine Delaney · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautifully crafted book …

[Lisa Culligan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very enjoyable read. Interesting perspective of walking alone at night. Insights into the lives and variety of night workers.

[Ailsa Mellor · Rating 5 out of 5]

A well-researched and enjoyable read.