YOU-JEONG JEONG’S LATEST, ​JINI, JINNY,​ IS A POWERFUL NOVEL that touches on environmentalism, human arrogance vis a vis the animal kingdom, and what it means to search for and fulfill a life’s purpose. The first non-thriller by the renowned crime novelist, this book is an exciting adventure with dashes of magical realism.
The book opens with Jini, a 34-year-old woman who is working on her PhD in primatology. She is in the Congo for research. She stumbles across a bonobo in illegal captivity, and though she knows what she should do, she ends up not doing anything; not reporting it, not telling anyone about it. ​This weighs on her heavily in the following half year or so and she decides to
leave her field. On her last day at work, the primate research center she works at gets a report that a bonobo is on the loose; she and her mentor go to help capture it, but get into a car accident on their way back.
When she comes to, she realizes she's in the body of the bonobo, who she and her mentor have decided to call Ginny. The book alternates between her voice and the perspective of Minju, a thirty-year-old man who doesn't have a job or money or a purpose in life. He discovers the accident and calls 911. Jini, in the body of Ginny, manages to convince Minju that she is Jini and the rest of the book follows their attempts to get to the hospital where Jini's body is in surgery so that she can return to her body. But the bonobo's consciousness takes over the animal’s body and Jini learns about the bonobo's past life. At the very end she realizes that the bonobo whose body she is occupying is the bonobo she failed to help in the Congo months ago. She wrestles with the fact that humans have been dominating and privileging themselves over animals and, knowing that her soul will die along with her severely damaged human body, returns to her original body, allowing the bonobo to return to its home in the Congo.
During this time, Minju finds purpose and risks everything to help Jini, making that human connection that he hasn't ever experienced; this incident forces him to grow up and find meaning again. The characters are particularly well realized, with a strong, conflicted, and ultimately sacrificial woman
The story in brief: The book opens with Jini, a 34 year old woman who is working on her PhD in primatology, in the Congo for research. She stumbles across a bonobo in illegal captivity, and though she knows what she should do, she ends up not doing anything; not reporting it, not telling anyone about it. This weighs on her heavily in the following half year or so, and she decides to leave her field and quit. On her last day, the primatology center she works at gets a report that a bonobo is on the loose; she and her mentor go to help capture it, but get into a car accident. When she comes to, she realizes she's in the body of the bonobo, who she and her mentor refer to as Jinny. The book alternates between her voice and the voice of Minju, a thirty year old man who doesn't have a job or money or a purpose in life, who is the one who discovers the accident and calls 911. Jini, in the body of Jinny, manages to convince Minju that she is Jini and the rest of the book follows their attempts to get to the hospital where Jini's body is in surgery so that she can return to her body. But more and more the bonobo's consciousness takes over the bonobo's body and Jini learns about the bonobo's past life, and at the very end she realizes that the bonobo whose body she is occupying is the bonobo she failed to help in the Congo months ago. (This part felt a little too pat.) She wrestles with the fact that humans have been dominating and privileging themselves over animals and, knowing that her soul will die along with her severely damaged human body, returns to her original body, allowing the bonobo to return to its home in the Congo. During all this Minju finds purpose and risks everything to help Jini, making that human connection that he hasn't had in a long time; this incident forces him to grow up and find meaning again.
Jeong’s characteristic powerful writing; it’s all about loss and disappointment and sacrificing yourself to do the right thing and critiquing human arrogance vis a vis the animal world, with a dash of genuine humor and rollicking adventure/action.