Mouth is a collection of eleven short stories that explore grief, sexuality and desire, bodily autonomy and the intimacy of humanity all while blurring the lines of reality. 

It is very rare to find a short story collection that works as cohesively as Mouth does. It’s clear Puloma has themes she’s very interested in that appear in some way in every story. Death and disappearing are two themes that are heavily featured in this collection. Lemon Boy, Nip and Natalya all showcase the exploration of grieving someone in such a beautifully haunting and visceral way. 

Another large theme within this collection is desire. There is a lot of yearning written in such visceral detail, and not all of it is sexual desire. A lot of deep animalistic desires are explored here as well. Giving into the beast inside you in the most horrific ways possible. 

The title Mouth is so fitting for this collection. It’s wild it’s weird it’s absurd and I ate it UP! I would love to have a discussion with Puloma so I could see how her mind works. She is definitely a writer to watch. 

Mouth is out June 10 2024. Thank you Astra House and Netgalley for this digital arc.