Open Throat

A queer and dangerously hungry mountain lion narrates this fever dream of a novel, carrying us on a universal journey through a wondrous and menacing modern day L.A.

‘A slim jewel of a novel . . . Open Throat is what fiction should be.’ – The New York Times Book Review
‘A blinding spotlight beam of a book that I was completely unable and unwilling to put down.’ – Catherine Lacey, author of Pew
Named a Most Anticipated Book by The New York Times, ELLE, Vanity Fair, Buzzfeed, i-D, Boston Globe, Nylon, Alta, Shondaland, Chicago Review of Books, Philadelphia Inquirer, and Literary Hub.

I’ve never eaten a person but today I might . . .

A lonely, lovable, queer mountain lion lives in the drought-devastated land under the Hollywood sign. Fascinated by the voices around them, 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 own identity.

When a man-made fire engulfs the encampment, the lion is forced from the hills down into the city the hikers call ‘ellay’. As they confront a carousel of temptations and threats, the lion takes us on a tour that spans the cruel inequalities of Los Angeles. 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?

Feral and vulnerable, profound and playful, Henry Hoke’s debut novel Open Throat is a marvel of storytelling that brings the mythic to life.