Holly Splawn’s Reviews > Nightbitch > Status Update

“ having a baby did not in any way represent a departure from work…. It actually, instead, marked an immersion in work, an unimaginable weight of work, a multiplication of work exponential in its scope,staggering, so staggering, both physically and psychically that even the most mentally well person might be brought to her knees beneath such a load….

“The magic-hour light cast everything in melancholic tones the gelatinous bits of noodles left on the boy’s plastic plate, the vagrant peas beneath his highchair, the clutter of wayward puppets and matchbox cars thrown across counters, and beside the cat-food dish. In such moments, she could almost touch her loneliness, as if it were her second child.”

“At the time, when decisions had to be made, she had truly wanted to stay home. She was, in a word, exhausted, though she had never wanted such a thing before. And honestly, what a privilege. What a treat. She understood that she was just a privileged, overeducated lady in the middle of America, living the dream of holding her baby 24 hours a day… she had nothing to complain about ever.”