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A review by lit_laugh_luv
Open Throat by Henry Hoke
3.0
While I certainly didn't hate this, it didn't have the same impact on me that a lot of others seem to have had. It's still a 3 stars for me (which is hardly a bad rating), but wasn't a real standout for me. The prose is interesting and the perspective on humanity (notably its cruelty and destructiveness) offers some lasting thought. Urbanization, climate change, and our mistreatment of animals (such as habitat destruction or confinement of animals in zoos) are all examined from the fictional lens of a mountain lion as they struggle to reconcile the purpose behind a lot of human behaviours they witness.
It is definitely a short read, and the use of magical realism makes the book a lot more interesting than just a direct social commentary - but even with that, it didn't fully capture my attention. Despite being marketed heavily as a queer book, the commentary on any queer themes is fairly minimal and so I think my expectations going into this were a bit misaligned with the content. I can't quite figure out where this went wrong - perhaps the length? It may have been better suited as a short story, or as a slightly longer novella to allow for some greater depth and exploration.
Either way, this is still a good book that bodes well for binging in a single sitting and Henry Hoke is no doubt a creative writer. I'll definitely explore other works by him given I think this is a good (albeit not stellar) novella!
"In my whole life I've been seen only by a few people, each time was a failing of my stealth and my mother's lessons"
It is definitely a short read, and the use of magical realism makes the book a lot more interesting than just a direct social commentary - but even with that, it didn't fully capture my attention. Despite being marketed heavily as a queer book, the commentary on any queer themes is fairly minimal and so I think my expectations going into this were a bit misaligned with the content. I can't quite figure out where this went wrong - perhaps the length? It may have been better suited as a short story, or as a slightly longer novella to allow for some greater depth and exploration.
Either way, this is still a good book that bodes well for binging in a single sitting and Henry Hoke is no doubt a creative writer. I'll definitely explore other works by him given I think this is a good (albeit not stellar) novella!
"In my whole life I've been seen only by a few people, each time was a failing of my stealth and my mother's lessons"