The Characters
in
Gus:
The Life & Opinions of the
Last Raffles’ Banded Langur

Gus

The novel is narrated by Gus, a precocious, articulate Raffles Banded Langur in search of his family at Bukit Timah Nature Reserve. He last saw his family many years ago before wildlife smugglers tore him from them and trafficked him to Jakarta where he entertained drivers stuck in traffic jams by juggling and reciting Pramoedya Ananta Toer on a unicycle.

The Monkey King

Dominating the fall of Singapore is The Monkey King, monkey number one, bred in the laboratories of Biopolis, a vengeful, macaque looking to up-end the world and right the wrongs of his past.

Charlie Tan

Gus is rescued from his chains by Charlie Tan, an auditor on assignment in Jakarta who secretly strives to be a clown.

Charlie desperately wanted to be a clown, & almost ran away to Paris to Philippe Gaulier's clown school, but stayed in Singapore to study accounting at NUS & become an auditor with a Big 4 firm.

Read how he crosses paths with Gus and finds redemption in the novel

Juliette Salonga

Gus is helped in his quest to return to Bukit Timah by Juliette Salonga, a hard working Filipino nurse, seeking to heal her grief over the death of her daughter and abusive husband.

Senior Staff Sergeant Tan

Charlie’s biggest challenge is dealing with his aging father, the authoritarian, order-loving, primate hating, model-citizen, Senior Staff Sergeant Tan.

There is a portrait by the wonderful Singapore Photographer, Tay Kay Chin, amongst these people here that also helped me visualise Senior Staff Sergeant Tan. Guess which one inspired Tan’s character?

Read an Excerpt from Gus

Listen to Jon talk about Gus