"The Genesis of Gus" on CNA938 with Melanie Oliveiro

On 27 June 2024, Jon appeared on CNA938 with Melanie Oliveiro. He enjoyed chatting with Melanie about Gus, speaking to cockroaches and vacuum cleaners, why Charlie is such a wimp, de-centring male individualistic narratives, and how Gus’s narrative resonates with Jon’s personal story.

Melanie Oliveiro has been presenting on radio for twenty years and is a strong supporter of Singapore culture and books. It was nice to sign Zaneta’s copy of We Rose Up Slowly. Zane and Arvin were the producers for the show and they both study at Nanyang Technological University.

You can listen to the recording here.

From CNA’s website: “Gus” is about how wild talking monkeys lead a bloody revolution in Singapore. Gresham discusses the inspiration behind the novel as well as the main characters: Gus, a Raffles' banded langur searching for his family in Bukit Timah, Juliette a grieving Filipino nurse, and Gus’ ‘owner’ Charlie an auditor and wannabe clown who both saves and stifles Gus.”