The Life and Times of Ota Benga

The highly anticipated new novel from JJ Bola, depicting the remarkable true story of Ota Benga

In 1904, Ota Benga, a young Congolese "pygmy" - a person of petite stature - arrived from central Africa and was featured in an anthropology exhibit at the St. Louis World's Fair. Two years later, the New York Zoological Gardens displayed him in its Monkey House, caging the slight 103-pound, 4-foot 11-inch tall man with an orangutan. The attraction became an international sensation, drawing thousands of New Yorkers and commanding headlines from across the nation and Europe.


In OTA, we follow our protagonist from the very beginning of his story in the DRC, through his journey to the US, Ota Benga's captivity, the international controversy it inspired, and his efforts to adjust to American life.

Written in Bola's beautiful, thoughtful prose - it is a novel of both unimaginable pain and hope.