Lucky Creatures

by Joseph Trinidad

Winner of the inaugural 2024 Saraband Prize in the Essay, selected by Alexander Chee and for readers of Ocean Vuong's The Emperor of Gladness

Lucky Creatures by Joseph Trinidad is a bold and playful essay collection exploring identity, displacement, and the complexities of immigrant life. Through the author’s experience as a Filipino immigrant in New Zealand, Lucky Creatures delves into the vibrancy of his home and the thriving Filipino community in rural Hawke’s Bay, his family’s struggles with systemic and structural racism, and his personal journey of coming out as queer while grappling with the desire for a child. Drawing from the creatures of Filipino folktales and New Zealand fauna, Lucky Creatures reflects on the intersections of culture, colonization, and self-discovery, answering every immigrant’s question: "Was the move worth it?" With humor, wit, and grace, Lucky Creatures offers an unforgettable exploration of life as a queer, Brown, transnational hybrid.

Genres: Essays

236 pages, Paperback

Published June 16, 2026

Reviews

[Jimmylanyard · Rating 5 out of 5]

This Joseph guy has got it.

[Merrill · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am in utter awe of Trinidad’s writing.

The first third of this book had me fully immersed in his visceral depiction of a youth spent in the Philippines. It had the essence of innocence and childlike wonder that made me wonder if this was where these essays would be sitting for the whole book.

But oh wow. The shifts between ages, countries and lives through different family perspectives were breathtaking. The chapter from his Mum’s perspective was a hooking midpoint. And what a wonderfully bittersweet last few chapters, that connected to the beginning in a way that plays with memories so smartly.

Trinidad portrays the heartbreak of longing for a past that’s hard to revisit because of distance, and longing for the future in a way I’ve never related so much to before.

Support Filipino media and art. These are stories I’m glad are out in the world and younger me is feeling nourished.

[Mathew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Woke up wit my Tuli what it do

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful debut essay collection written by my dear friend Joe, who writes with so much humour and detail all throughout the book. My favourite essay is 'Grace at the Farm', where, writing in first person as his mum, Joe describes the struggles of their move from the Philippines to New Zealand, as well as the things his mum kept to herself to help ease the transition for the family. Everybody’s immigration story is different, but I often read stories of those who were born in the new country (like me), or who moved at a very young age, and so the motherland is a distant thing that first must be understood like a stranger. It felt new to me to read Joe’s story, who moved as an immigrant child later in life at 13, so the homeland and its churn of language and once everyday routines are still very much fresh in his memory, and consequently the push/pull of gaining/losing in the new country is a heightened experience. I love this book, it makes me dream of home x

[Jessica Patterson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Joseph’s book is full of beautiful and honest stories from his life. I feel honoured that he chose to share them with us. The way he writes made me feel truly present in the moment, more than just a fly on the wall. Almost as if I was another family member, somewhere on the periphery of the tale. The storytelling had me laughing out loud in parts and welling up in others. I was touched by his relationships, especially with his Papa, Mami and his mother. Joseph has a way of stringing words together that read like poetry, yet leave you with no doubt about what he was feeling and experiencing. The ultimate master of ‘show don’t tell’. Thank you, Joseph, for letting us into your world, for exposing your heart to us and entertaining us in the process!

[sophie! · Rating 5 out of 5]

I laughed, I cried, I have never felt as close to a family I've never met before. Trinidad is such a talented wordsmith, I cannot wait to hear more of what he has to say. The essay about facetiming his grandfather? Tattoo it on the back of my eyelids. That one and the one about parenthood as a gay father were just stand out - every essay in this collection was incredible, and the first half of the book does a great job to set up the semi tonal shift in the second half, but WOW. Those two were just something else entirely.

[Salene Schloffel-Armstrong · Rating 5 out of 5]

So so wonderful, warm, sincere, hilarious!