Juano Diaz
Friday 17th May
Topping & Company Booksellers of Edinburgh, 2 Blenheim Place, Edinburgh EH7 5JH
7.10pm
7.30pm
Juano Diaz' Slum Boy is a literary sensation in the making. Already winning the hearts of Andrew O'Hagan and Douglas Stuart, Slum Boy is an endlessly human, gracious, and honest portrait of Juano's early years growing up in post-industrial Glasgow.
This is - as far as our booksellers are concerned - a landmark addition to the Scottish canon. The event will also be chaired by journalist Paul English. So, please, join us in raising a glass to Juano and his beautiful book, this May.
Slum Boy: A Portrait
John MacDonald must find his mother.
Born into the slums of Glasgow in the late '70s, a 4-year-old John's life is filled with the debris of alcoholism and poverty. Soon after witnessing a drowning, his mother's addictions take over their lives, leaving him starving in their flat, awaiting her return.
A concerned neighbor reports her, and he is forcibly taken away from his mother and placed into the care system. There, he dreams of being reunited with her. His mind is consumed with images and memories he can't process or understand, which his eventual adoptive parents silence out of fear as he grows into a young man within a strict Catholic and Romany Gypsy community.
This memoir is about how John found his way to his true identity, Juano Diaz, and how, against all odds, his unstoppable love for his mother sets him free.
About Juano Diaz
Juano lives in Wiltshire with his partner David and their son. He is an internationally acclaimed artist and collaborates with many others including Pierre et Giles and Grace Jones. His work has been exhibited in galleries across the world including at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Juano is currently working with film director Sophie Fiennes.