Open Throat — Metadata

Orientation

A genderqueer mountain lion lives in the brush above Los Angeles, narrating in a present-tense, lowercase, unpunctuated stream of thought. Inspired by the real cougar P-22 of Griffith Park, the lion eavesdrops on hikers, protects a homeless encampment, mourns a past love (the "kill sharer"), and remembers a violent father. After an arsonist burns the camp, the lion is driven down into "ellay," is taken in by a teenage witch ("little slaughter") who calls him "heckit," and ends up wandering Disneyland as her emotional-support animal. The book balances climate grief, queer tenderness, hunger, and the indignity of consciousness — propulsive, lyrical, short.

Cover-at-a-glance

Cream off-white field. A black ink-blot Rorschach mountain-lion face dominates the center — paint-splattered, expressionist, almost dripping — pierced by two glowing yellow eyes. The title "OPEN THROAT" is hand-painted in jagged multicolor strokes (electric yellow, hot pink, magenta, blood-orange) at the top; "HENRY HOKE" repeats the palette at the bottom. "A NOVEL" sits small in red. The mood is punk, queer, raw, and feral — as though the book itself is mid-snarl. Designer: Rodrigo Corral.