We first meet Gus, a chained and abused, talking Raffles’ Banded Langur, entertaining drivers at a Jakarta intersection. Charlie Tan, an auditor, who secretly wants to be a clown, rescues Gus and smuggles him back to Singapore on the last flight before the borders close.

Gus yearns to find his family at Bukit Timah Nature Reserve but at every turn the violent turmoil unleashed by articulate, rampaging monkeys led by the eloquent Monkey King obstructs his path. Gus and Charlie part ways as the monkey revolution spreads chaos and mayhem across the island. A Filipino nurse, Juliette Salonga, rocked by guilt and grief for the death of her daughter and husband, helps Gus in his quest.

As nature reasserts itself across the island, they search for a home that will accept them for who they are. Gus and Juliette trudge up and down the Rail Corridor to the Monkey Kingdom at Clementi Forest, while Charlie finds survivors taking refuge amongst the heritage shophouses of Blair Plain and the higher levels of the Pinnacle@Duxton.

Will Gus find his family — the last Raffles’ Banded Langurs — at Bukit Timah? Will Charlie get to be a clown or will his past come back to haunt him? Will Juliette find peace? Will people listen when nature talks back?

Find the answers to these questions, and more, in Gus: The Life & Opinions of the Last Raffles’ Banded Langur, a dystopian, Singaporean eco-fiction adventure with monkeys, clowns, nursing care and shophouses.

I am busy revising and editing a draft of my forthcoming novel.

What’s this novel about?

Gus is a novel about a monkey at the end of the world who talks and wants to find his way home to the jungles of Bukit Timah Nature Reserve.

This is the story of his journey through a Singapore falling apart, and his search for a home and community.

I’ll write more about Gus in the coming days, and will introduce you to the characters, places and themes of the novel. I’ll also let you know about my process writing this novel and give you a chance to receive an advance reading copy.

See you here soon.