Saga Boy

“A young boy experiments with self-expression after a death in the family catapults him into isolation and instability.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“Compelling … Saga Boy is an eloquent memoir about Antonio Michael Downing’s experiences as an immigrant in a minority population; it centers his resilience.”

“An engaging narrative about the search for home, belonging, and identity … Intriguing, passionate, and often moving.”

“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.”

“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.”

“Saga Boy is an utterly riveting and powerful foray into tracing the lands and communities that make and mold us. A triumph!”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

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.”

“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.”