Saga Boy - by Antonio Michael Downing (Paperback)

About the Book

"Singularly dazzling . . . A brilliant collage of the twenty-first century's most incredible memoirs." --KIESE LAYMON

Book Synopsis

Blending mythology and memory, Saga Boy follows a young Black immigrant's vibrant personal metamorphosis.

Growing up as a clever, willful boy in a tiny village in the tropical forests of Trinidad--raised by his indomitable grandmother, Miss Excelly, and her King James Bible--Antonio Michael Downing is steeped in the legacies of his scattered family, the vibrant culture of the island, and the weight of its colonial history. But following Miss Excelly's death, everything changes. The eleven-year-old Downing seems to fall asleep in the jungle and to wake up in a blizzard: he is sent to live with his devoutly evangelical Aunt Joan in rural Canada, where they are the only Black family in a landscape starkly devoid of the warm lushness of his childhood.

Isolated and longing for home, Downing begins a decades-long journey to transform himself through music and performance. A reunion with his birth parents, whom he has known only through story, closes more doors than it opens. Instead, Downing seeks refuge in increasingly extravagant musical personalities: "Mic Dainjah," a boisterous punk rapper; "Molasses," a soul crooner; and, finally, an eccentric dystopian-era pop star clad in leather and gold, "John Orpheus." In his mid-thirties, increasingly addicted to escapism, attention, and sex, Downing realizes he has become a "Saga Boy"--a Trinidadian playboy archetype--like his father and grandfather before him. When his choices land him in a jail cell, Downing must face who he has become.

Harnessing the lyricism of an evangelical childhood into a flourishing and unforgettable prose all its own, Saga Boy is a poignant journey of overcoming, belonging, and becoming one's own self.

Review Quotes

Praise for Saga Boy

"A young boy experiments with self-expression after a death in the family catapults him into isolation and instability."--Essence, "Books We Can't Wait to Curl Up With This Fall"

"This coming-of-age memoir follows Downing from his childhood with his grandmother and brother in Trinidad, to the boys' eventual move to rural Ontario, to Downing's invention of his rocker persona."--Bustle, "Most Anticipated Books of September 2021"

"A rich memoir about how far some folks have to travel just to arrive where they began . . . Exalted and melodic . . . We see vast and granular marvels through the eyes of a child still capable of awe."--Minneapolis Star Tribune

"Combining staccato prose and singsong storytelling . . . Downing's heart-wrenching memoir chronicles his saga of trying on and casting off many masks, learning the dimensions of the face through which he sees the world and the world sees him."--BookPage

"Deeply moving . . . Suffused with poetic prose that jumps off the page, this inspiring account sings." --Publishers Weekly, Starred Review

"Compelling . . . Saga Boy is an eloquent memoir about Antonio Michael Downing's experiences as an immigrant in a minority population; it centers his resilience."--Foreword Reviews, starred review

"An engaging narrative about the search for home, belonging, and identity . . . Intriguing, passionate, and often moving."--Kirkus Reviews

"Downing's lush language and sensory details make the fascinating events of this memoir pop. An authentic, entertaining, and timely account of a creative immigrant's experiences."--Booklist

"Singularly dazzling, Saga Boy is a brilliant collage of the twenty-first century's most incredible memoirs. Told with an unforgettable and innovative pace, this a book I will reread forever."--Kiese Laymon, author of Heavy

"A vibrant, evocative, and searing account of the lives of Black immigrants. Downing helps us understand the rage and resilience of Black boys--motherless, fatherless, itinerant--and the communities that intervene to raise them. The triumph of Saga Boy is the triumph of Blackness everywhere--the irrepressible instinct for survival in a world where Blacks are prey."--Ian Williams, Giller Prize-winning author of Reproduction

"An emotionally captivating, heartbreaking read on one man's journey to understand who he is, where he comes from and where he belongs. From being the only Black family in Wabigoon to moving transformatively through the music scene in the city, Saga Boy makes us all question the strength of the ties that bind and where our future lies."--Tanya Talaga, author of Seven Fallen Feathers and All Our Relations

"Downing transports readers to the steamy, scented jungle of Trinidad where he lived with his grandmother as a child. Miss Excelly stands with ramrod dignity, glories in the Lord's love, and jumps off the page with her strength, her joy, and her suffering. As Faulkner created the powerful Dilsey in The Sound and the Fury, Downing has created Miss Excelly. A story of resilience and character, Saga Boy is bound to become a Canadian classic."--Catherine Gildiner, author of Good Morning, Monster and Too Close to the Falls

"In Saga Boy, Downing offers expertise and experience, intellect and intimacy; this is a book that names the griefs and violences of colonialism and insists on the tentacular ways they reach into all facets of being. It is also a book about kinship, pleasure, celebration, and love. Saga Boy is the story of a remarkable life, one both relatable and not, told with intricacy. It charts the ways space and time shape people into many, discernible persons within a lifetime. Truly unforgettable."--Jenny Heijun Wills, author of Older Sister, Not Necessarily Related

"Downing seamlessly blends poetic images, music, and storytelling to create a poignant and stunningly honest memoir of a young man's adamant determination to navigate his position and find himself despite the boundaries of colonialism, racism, and the endless sense of disbelonging."--Lamees al Ethari, author of Waiting for the Rain: An Iraqi Memoir and From the Wounded Banks of the Tigris

About the Author

Antonio Michael Downing is an author, speaker, and musical artist. His memoir Saga Boy was called "singularly dazzling" by Kiese Laymon and "the triumph of Blackness everywhere" by Scotiabank Giller Prize-winner Ian Williams. He has been shortlisted for several awards including the 2019 RBC Taylor Prize Emerging Writer Award, the 2021 Toronto Book Award, and the 2021 Speaker's Book Award. He is also the author of the children's picture book Stars in My Crown and his debut novel, Black Cherokee. He writes and performs music as John Orpheus. Raised in Trinidad, Toronto, and Brooklyn, Antonio Michael Downing now lives in Kitchener, Ontario.