Open Throat by Henry Hoke
In the Hollywood hills, a mountain lion is struggling to survive. Isolated and afraid in a place devastated by drought, the lion's endless hunger begins to get to him. As the land around him continues to decay, he begins to fantasize about killing the hikers who pass him by day after day. As it protects the precarious welfare of a nearby homeless encampment from its thicket, it confronts a carousel of temptations and threats, taking us on a tour that spans the city's cruel inequalities to the toll of climate grief, all while grappling with the complexities of its own gender identity and memories of a vicious, absent father. Open Throat is a stinging, moving and intimate look at the impact the climate crisis has on animals and our environment. There are moving and laugh-out-loud moments, but ultimately this poignant narrative voice forces you to reckon with our dying planet.
In the Hollywood hills, a mountain lion is struggling to survive. Isolated and afraid in a place devastated by drought, the lion's endless hunger begins to get to him. As the land around him continues to decay, he begins to fantasize about killing the hikers who pass him by day after day. As it protects the precarious welfare of a nearby homeless encampment from its thicket, it confronts a carousel of temptations and threats, taking us on a tour that spans the city's cruel inequalities to the toll of climate grief, all while grappling with the complexities of its own gender identity and memories of a vicious, absent father. Open Throat is a stinging, moving and intimate look at the impact the climate crisis has on animals and our environment. There are moving and laugh-out-loud moments, but ultimately this poignant narrative voice forces you to reckon with our dying planet.
In the Hollywood hills, a mountain lion is struggling to survive. Isolated and afraid in a place devastated by drought, the lion's endless hunger begins to get to him. As the land around him continues to decay, he begins to fantasize about killing the hikers who pass him by day after day. As it protects the precarious welfare of a nearby homeless encampment from its thicket, it confronts a carousel of temptations and threats, taking us on a tour that spans the city's cruel inequalities to the toll of climate grief, all while grappling with the complexities of its own gender identity and memories of a vicious, absent father. Open Throat is a stinging, moving and intimate look at the impact the climate crisis has on animals and our environment. There are moving and laugh-out-loud moments, but ultimately this poignant narrative voice forces you to reckon with our dying planet.
