Bonobo - Paperback

by You-Jeong Jeong (Author), Seon Jae An (Translator)

You-jeong Jeong braids three lives--a primatologist, a deadbeat, and a trafficked bonobo--in this speculative meditation on communication, control, and what humans owe the animal world.

Primatologist Jini has tried to forget her betrayal: when she found a baby bonobo headed for the abuses of the black market, she failed to set it free. But a late-night car accident reunites them years later, embedding Jini's consciousness in the terrified animal and leaving her human body hovering between life and death.

As she and deadbeat protector-for-hire Minjoo search for her body, Jini drifts through the bonobo's memories of joy, degradation, and panic. For the first time, she'll have to rethink her power over other creatures--and her powerlessness against the forces of nature.

Author Biography

You-Jeong Jeong, known as South Korea's Stephen King, is an award-winning and bestselling author of psychological thrillers and crime fiction. Her works have been translated and published in twenty-three countries, including the U.S., UK, France, Germany, Finland, China, Japan, and Brazil. She currently resides in South Korea.

An Seon Jae was born in England in 1942. He has lived in Korea for over 45 years. He taught English literature in Sogang University, Seoul, and has published over 60 volumes of translated Korean poetry under the name Brother Anthony of Taizé and has received various awards including the 2024 Manhae Literary Award.