Finalist for the 2023 Epigram Books Fiction Prize
In this action-packed eco-novel, wild talking monkeys lead a revolution in a troubled Singapore. Gus, a precocious Raffles' banded langur, seeks to get home to Bukit Timah Nature Reserve, a Filipino nurse tries to heal her grief, and an auditor strives to be a clown. Their adventures take place along the Rail Corridor, among the shophouses of Blair Plain, and beneath the skyscrapers of downtown Singapore.
About the author
Jon Gresham is the author of We Rose Up Slowly (2015). His writing has appeared in various publications, including Best Singaporean Short Stories 1 (2020) and The Best Asian Short Stories 2020. His story “The Visit” was shortlisted for the 2020 Short Fiction/Essex University Prize and included in Best New Singaporean Short Stories: Volume Five (2021). He also co-edited In This Desert, There Were Seeds (2019), an anthology of stories by West Australian and Singaporean writers.
Jon helped run the Asia Creative Writing Programme, a collaboration between the School of Humanities at Nanyang Technological University and the National Arts Council of Singapore. He is a co-founder of Sing Lit Station, and established the Book A Writer workshop programme. He has lived in Singapore for over twenty years. Gus: The Life and Opinions of the Last Raffles’ Banded Langur is his first novel.