Genre Fiction
![Henry Hoke - [object Object] author](https://res.cloudinary.com/readsomnia/image/upload/authors/a_B09MV36C74.jpg)
Open Throat: A Novel
One of ELLE's Best Summer Books of 2023, and one of i-D's Fiction to be Excited for in 2023. Named a Most Anticipated Book by The New York Times, Vanity Fair, Buzzfeed, Nylon, Alta, Shondaland, Chicago Review of Books, Philadelphia Inquirer, and Literary Hub
"Open Throat is a blinding spotlight beam of a book that I was completely unable and unwilling to put down." ―Catherine Lacey. "My favorite book of this century so far." ―Andrea Lawlor. "A fantastical, deeply moving, and original adventure." ―Brontez Purnell
A lonely, lovable, queer mountain lion narrates this star-making fever dream of a novel.
A queer and dangerously hungry mountain lion lives in the drought-devastated land under the Hollywood sign. Lonely and fascinated by humanity's foibles, the lion spends their days protecting a nearby homeless encampment, observing hikers complain about their trauma, and, in quiet moments, grappling with the complexities of their gender identity, memories of a vicious father, and the indignities of sentience.
When a man-made fire engulfs the encampment, the lion is forced from the hills down into the city the hikers call "ellay." As the lion confronts a carousel of temptations and threats, they take us on a tour that spans the cruel inequalities of Los Angeles and the toll of climate grief. But even when salvation finally seems within reach, they are forced to face down the ultimate question: Do they want to eat a person, or become one?
Henry Hoke's Open Throat is a marvel of storytelling, a universal journey through a wondrous and menacing world recounted by a lovable mountain lion. Feral and vulnerable, profound and playful, Open Throat is a star-making novel that brings the mythic to life.
"Open Throat is a blinding spotlight beam of a book that I was completely unable and unwilling to put down." ―Catherine Lacey. "My favorite book of this century so far." ―Andrea Lawlor. "A fantastical, deeply moving, and original adventure." ―Brontez Purnell
A lonely, lovable, queer mountain lion narrates this star-making fever dream of a novel.
A queer and dangerously hungry mountain lion lives in the drought-devastated land under the Hollywood sign. Lonely and fascinated by humanity's foibles, the lion spends their days protecting a nearby homeless encampment, observing hikers complain about their trauma, and, in quiet moments, grappling with the complexities of their gender identity, memories of a vicious father, and the indignities of sentience.
When a man-made fire engulfs the encampment, the lion is forced from the hills down into the city the hikers call "ellay." As the lion confronts a carousel of temptations and threats, they take us on a tour that spans the cruel inequalities of Los Angeles and the toll of climate grief. But even when salvation finally seems within reach, they are forced to face down the ultimate question: Do they want to eat a person, or become one?
Henry Hoke's Open Throat is a marvel of storytelling, a universal journey through a wondrous and menacing world recounted by a lovable mountain lion. Feral and vulnerable, profound and playful, Open Throat is a star-making novel that brings the mythic to life.
Editorial Reviews
"Give this sinewy prose poem a chance and you'll fall under the spell of a forlorn voice trapped in the hellscape of modern America . . . it's the combination of attention and naiveté that charges his observations with unconscious profundity . . . Hoke coughs up little hairballs of comic misunderstanding throughout Open Throat, but it's the pathos that sustains his novel. The mountain lion speaks for a lonely, alienated generation. " ―Ron Charles, The Washington Post
"A propulsive, one-sitting read, if also a somber one . . .. Without spoiling the story, it's perhaps enough to say that the climax of Open Throat is a very L.A. one, with spotlights and drama. But it's also a universal one." ―Mark Athitakis, Los Angeles Times
"The premise alone makes Henry Hoke's startling achievement worth the purchase . . . Philosophical and heartfelt, Open Throat is the ultimate immersion into the mind of an unlikely protagonist." ―Lauren Puckett-Pope, ELLE
"One of the most unique novels I've read in years . . . I didn't know I would feel such attachment to a mountain lion when I started reading, but in Henry Hoke's talented hands, they become an instantly memorable and endearing protagonist." ―David Vogel, Buzzfeed
"This lyrical story of loneliness and kinship in Los Angeles is, by turns, delightful and melancholy―and inventive throughout." ―Vanity Fair
"Hoke's syntax throughout is a marvel . . . Open Throat is a tight, funny book with an alarmingly unique tone, and with an ending that redeems itself from all the questions that pad along the way." ―Meg Whiteford, The Brooklyn Rail
"Singular, stunning . . . [the mountain lion] finds indelible place in readers' hearts. Hoke's prose is a joy, as it alternatingly charms with malapropisms and stuns with poetic simplicity. Compassionate, fierce, and bittersweet, this is an unforgettable love letter to the wild." ―Kirkus (starred review)
"The economi...
"A propulsive, one-sitting read, if also a somber one . . .. Without spoiling the story, it's perhaps enough to say that the climax of Open Throat is a very L.A. one, with spotlights and drama. But it's also a universal one." ―Mark Athitakis, Los Angeles Times
"The premise alone makes Henry Hoke's startling achievement worth the purchase . . . Philosophical and heartfelt, Open Throat is the ultimate immersion into the mind of an unlikely protagonist." ―Lauren Puckett-Pope, ELLE
"One of the most unique novels I've read in years . . . I didn't know I would feel such attachment to a mountain lion when I started reading, but in Henry Hoke's talented hands, they become an instantly memorable and endearing protagonist." ―David Vogel, Buzzfeed
"This lyrical story of loneliness and kinship in Los Angeles is, by turns, delightful and melancholy―and inventive throughout." ―Vanity Fair
"Hoke's syntax throughout is a marvel . . . Open Throat is a tight, funny book with an alarmingly unique tone, and with an ending that redeems itself from all the questions that pad along the way." ―Meg Whiteford, The Brooklyn Rail
"Singular, stunning . . . [the mountain lion] finds indelible place in readers' hearts. Hoke's prose is a joy, as it alternatingly charms with malapropisms and stuns with poetic simplicity. Compassionate, fierce, and bittersweet, this is an unforgettable love letter to the wild." ―Kirkus (starred review)
"The economi...
