Author Talk : Miguel Bonnefoy—Le Rêve du jaguar

In partnership with Villa Albertine, please join us in welcoming the celebrated Franco-Venezuelan author Miguel Bonnefoy for a reading and a discussion of his 2024 book, Le rêve du jaguar, published in 2024.

Miguel will speak about his work and read from the novel (en français). He will then be joined in conversation by Sophie Ann Hinkson, French Instructor at both Loyal University and the Alliance.

This program will be followed by a reception featuring complimentary French wine. Guests will be be able to pre-order copies of The Dream of the Jaguar: A Novel, Ruth Diver’s English translation (publication slated for December 2, 2025), through our friends at The Book Stall. The author will be available to sign book plates.

Doors open at 6:00 p.m. Program begins at 6:30 p.m. Please enter via 54 W Chicago Ave. Non-alcohlic options will be available.

About the Author

Miguel Bonnefoy

Miguel Bonnefoy is a Franco-Venezuelan author who has written multiple highly acclaimed books, published under Rivages publishing: Le voyage d’Octavio (2015), Sucre noir (2017), Héritage (2020, Prix des Libraires 2021),  L’Inventeur (2022, Prix Patrimoines), and Le rêve du jaguar (Prix Femina et Grand Prix du Roman de l’Académie française). His works have been translated into more than twenty languages and adapted for audiobooks and a graphic novel. 

About the Book

Le rêve du jaguar

When a mute beggar from Maracaibo, Venezuela, takes in a newborn abandoned on the steps of a church, she has no idea of the extraordinary destiny that awaits the orphan. Raised in poverty, Antonio will be a cigarette seller, a porter on the docks, a servant in a brothel before becoming, thanks to his effusive energy, one of the most illustrious surgeons in his country.

An exceptional partner will inspire him. Ana Maria will distinguish herself as the first female doctor in the region. They will give birth to a daughter whom they will name after their own country: Venezuela. Connected to South America by her first name as much as by her origins, she only has eyes for Paris. But we never truly leave our own people. It is in the notebook of Cristóbal, the last link of their family, that the stories of this astonishing lineage will finally take shape.

In this vibrant saga full of unforgettable characters, Miguel Bonnefoy paints a picture, inspired by his own ancestors, of a remarkable family whose fate is intertwined with that of Venezuela.

Le rêve du jaguar won both the Grand Prix du Roman de l’Académie française and the Prix Femina in 2024.

About the Moderator

Sophie Ann Hinkson

Sophie Ann Hinkson is a French Instructor at both Loyala University and the Allliance Française de Chicago. She received her MA in Modern Literature from the University of Limoges (2007) and her MFA in Creative Writing from UC Riverside (2026). Her research interests include narrative traditions of speculative fiction across Europe and North America.

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