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siriface's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Gore
hannahrogers's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Fire/Fire injury, and Violence
littlefroggy's review against another edition
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death and Blood
Moderate: Violence, Classism, and Fire/Fire injury
scifi_rat's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
4.0
Plot: 4★
Prose: 5★
Pace: 4.5★
Concept/Execution: 4.5★/5★
Characters: 5★
Worldbuilding: 5★
Ending: 4★
Prose: 5★
Pace: 4.5★
Concept/Execution: 4.5★/5★
Characters: 5★
Worldbuilding: 5★
Ending: 4★
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Excrement, Gore, Violence, Death of parent, Death, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cursing, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Sexual content
kirstym25's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Violence, and Animal death
pigeon_'s review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Animal death, and Blood
Moderate: Death and Fire/Fire injury
kairhone's review against another edition
adventurous
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
savvylit's review against another edition
adventurous
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
3.0
Open Throat is beautifully written. By putting readers in the mind of a mountain lion, Hoke pushes us to consider the impact that humanity has on native wildlife. Beyond that, though, there is not much substance to this book. Don't get me wrong - I think experimental novels are interesting. I think that novels that encourage the reader to empathize with non-human beings are interesting. But Open Throat ultimately did not have enough depth for me to enjoy it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Violence, and Classism
introvertsbookclub's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
4.5
A novel told from the perspective of a queer lion prowling beneath the Hollywood sign sounds strange and unique. And it is.
So many comparisons are drawn between animals and humans, reducing humans to their basic needs and revealing the animalistic nature that humans try to bury, and personifying the lion’s character and emotional experience. The lions’s voice was thrilling to read. The way that the lion encountered and tried to understand the human world – language and culture and interactions – was fascinating. The human world seemed at times bizarre and at others mundane. It was such a fascinating gaze to see the world through.
The lion was painfully tender-hearted, seeking connection and community and questioning how much of their self they will have to suppress to achieve that. But there was also a lot of anger in the novel directed towards humans and the harm they have caused to the environment and the cruelty they enact. There was a constant struggle within the lion between joining humans and seeking revenge against them.
Within the novel there was so much emotion. The lions’s story paralleled a coming out or leaving home or twenty-something trying to find their community. The prose was striking and captivating and there was something so familiar and universal about the story. Just an extraordinary novel from start to finish.
So many comparisons are drawn between animals and humans, reducing humans to their basic needs and revealing the animalistic nature that humans try to bury, and personifying the lion’s character and emotional experience. The lions’s voice was thrilling to read. The way that the lion encountered and tried to understand the human world – language and culture and interactions – was fascinating. The human world seemed at times bizarre and at others mundane. It was such a fascinating gaze to see the world through.
The lion was painfully tender-hearted, seeking connection and community and questioning how much of their self they will have to suppress to achieve that. But there was also a lot of anger in the novel directed towards humans and the harm they have caused to the environment and the cruelty they enact. There was a constant struggle within the lion between joining humans and seeking revenge against them.
Within the novel there was so much emotion. The lions’s story paralleled a coming out or leaving home or twenty-something trying to find their community. The prose was striking and captivating and there was something so familiar and universal about the story. Just an extraordinary novel from start to finish.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
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