It’s Every Monkey for Themseves, by Vanessa Woods

Imagine you live in a remote village in Central America. Every morning the alarm wakes you up, and for the next 14 hours you run through the jungle, chasing monkeys. You don’t know why you do it. You just do. You see everything. They quarrel. They copulate. They stab each other in the back. Imagine you live in a house with eight other people. You quarrel. You copulate. You stab each other in the back. Slowly, the differences between you and the monkeys - the differences you assumed would always be there – disappear. Memories of civilisation fades. The jungle takes over. Mosquitoes swarm in clouds. Fungus creeps into your crotch. Killer bees conspire to murder you. Something pushes you over the edge. Maybe you smash your head on a rock. Maybe you fall in love with the wrong guy. Maybe it’s something worse. It’s every monkey for themselves is a young woman’s story of life in the jungle. Witty, troubled, and deeply moving, it is about the lovers that trip you up, and the friendships that keep you going. Above all, it is a triumphant account of survival, camaraderie, and love - monkey style.