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Migrantik

Norman Wilwayco
Buying Options
Paperback / Hardback

Tony is one of millions of Filipinos scattered across the globe, working to send money back to his family. But unlike other migrants, he’s no pushover at work and doesn’t live in fear of losing his visa.

Squatting in the office with an Irish co-worker to save money, Tony hustles as a web designer and battles with a ball-busting Scottish boss during the day. At night, he washes away the loneliness and fights the enormous pressure with booze and weed, saving most of what he earns to send back home.

But the money from all the hard work never seems to be enough.

If it’s not a new phone for his teenaged daughter, it’s for a cousin’s birthday or an uncle who needs funding for a business. Everyone ‘s counting on his salary. So Tony plugs away, seeking small comfort in video calls with his family, finding short-lived happiness in skateboarding in empty carparks, and diving deep into the dark side of Sydney – away from the posh lights of the Harbor Bridge and smack dab into the seedy suburbs.

Tony’s life as a migrant begins to unravel as events come to a head, and he’s forced to face the consequences of his actions.

Translated from Filipino by Peter Dominique Mutuc, Migrantik is told through the lens of economic, emotional, and occasionally actual violence.

Published: Aug/2022

ISBN: 9789815017892

Length: 288 Pages

Migrantik

Norman Wilwayco

Tony is one of millions of Filipinos scattered across the globe, working to send money back to his family. But unlike other migrants, he’s no pushover at work and doesn’t live in fear of losing his visa.

Squatting in the office with an Irish co-worker to save money, Tony hustles as a web designer and battles with a ball-busting Scottish boss during the day. At night, he washes away the loneliness and fights the enormous pressure with booze and weed, saving most of what he earns to send back home.

But the money from all the hard work never seems to be enough.

If it’s not a new phone for his teenaged daughter, it’s for a cousin’s birthday or an uncle who needs funding for a business. Everyone ‘s counting on his salary. So Tony plugs away, seeking small comfort in video calls with his family, finding short-lived happiness in skateboarding in empty carparks, and diving deep into the dark side of Sydney – away from the posh lights of the Harbor Bridge and smack dab into the seedy suburbs.

Tony’s life as a migrant begins to unravel as events come to a head, and he’s forced to face the consequences of his actions.

Translated from Filipino by Peter Dominique Mutuc, Migrantik is told through the lens of economic, emotional, and occasionally actual violence.

Buying Options
Paperback / Hardback

Norman Wilwayco

Norman Wilwayco, eLearning developer living in Sydney, is the recipient of two Grand Prize for Filipino Literature from the Palanca awards; first for his debut novel Mondomanila, and second, for his sophomoric work, Gerilya.

He grew up in three different regions across the Philippines: Cebu, Mindanao, and Metro Manila. He's been a toy maker, a carpenter's apprentice, an undertaker's helper, a scriptwriter for a children's TV show, a clerk, and a graphic designer.

His first novel, Mondomanila, received the Grand Prize for Filipino Literature from the Palanca Awards in 2002. The gritty, revenge-embezzlement story gained a cult following and has been adapted for the screen.

He has also written several short stories collected in Responde and Rekta. One of his short stories, Kahon, has received first prize from the Gawad Ka Amado.

He also writes for the big screen, working with independent filmmakers. His most recent one, co-written with the director, Leave if for Tomorrow for Night Has Fallen won Best Screenplay at the Cinema One Originals Digital Film Festival.

Migrantik is his third novel.