Bonobo

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.