Teruo the Orangutan centers around protagonist Masao’s intriguing notion that an orangutan recently delivered to the Taihoku Zoo from the jungles of Southeast Asia might somehow be Teruo, his brother who had just recently died in battle in the Dutch Indies. It “writes” him messages and even eerily resembles his dead brother. Framed around taxidermy, the story opens windows into indigenous craftsmanship, specimen-making, and Taipei’s old Taihoku Zoo and examines, in the character of Teruo, how, why and where Taiwanese served in Japan’s military during the Pacific War. The historical details woven into this work of fantasy infuse a rich and satisfying sense of realism that make this novel not only a universal tale of family affection but also a mirror into a unique time in recent Taiwan history.