About the Book

A DARKLY COMIC ACCOUNT OF A MIGRANT FAMILY'S LIFE IN THE GULF AND THE REPERCUSSIONS BACK HOME.
Joachim Coutinho s life in Mangalore is in a rut: a ne er-do-well father, a mother and sister to provide for, never enough money, and dreams of being an actor in starry Bollywood which are going nowhere. He sets his sights on Bahrain and a job he hopes will improve his situation. Life in the Gulf, however, proves to be harder still. He s lonely, and lives with a constant sense of inadequacy. But hey, he's a success story now, and a brave face is what he must put on.
Back in Mangalore, Joachim s nephew, Darrel Serrao, looks on with envy. He wants everything his uncle has: a loving family, a good job and a life of plenty in a foreign land. Surely, if Joachim can do it, so can he.
Building incrementally, conversation by conversation, observation upon observation, You Envy the Coutinhos tells a story of family and migration, ambition and disillusionment. This is a tragicomic tale, as gloriously dramatic as the culture it is steeped in, and astute in its understanding of human relationships.

About the Author

Michelle D costa enjoys editing, teaching creative writing and interviewing writers. Her poetry chapbook, Gulf, was published in 2021. Her work has appeared in many international literary journals. She has a master's in Creative Writing from the University of Auckland. This is her debut novel.