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Jamie (131 KP) rated Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood in Books

Jul 22, 2017  
Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood
Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood
Trevor Noah | 2017 | Biography
10
9.2 (16 Ratings)
Book Rating
Noah’s wit and charm (1 more)
Frank discussions of racism, poverty, and family
Some of the humor could be too much at times and border on being offensive (0 more)
A stellar memoir
For those that don’t already know who Trevor Noah is, he is a comedian from South Africa that is now the current host of The Daily Show, taking the place of Jon Stewart when he retired. Trevor is an accomplished polyglot, speaking 9 languages fluently and has some fluency in several more. In much of his comedy he talks about his difficulties with racial identity having been born during apartheid to an African mother and a Swiss father. Apartheid was a system of institutionalized segregation in South Africa that lasted from the 1940’s to the 1990’s.

The book is bursting at the seams with humorous anecdotes about growing up as the wild child in his family. Getting in trouble, trying to outrun and outsmart his mom, committing petty crimes with friends, striking out with girls; Trevor’s life was colorful in no small part because of his mother. In interviews Trevor has stated that his memoir became sort of an open love letter to his mother, Patricia Noah–a fiercely independent woman that refused to be held down by her race or gender and sought to show her son the world outside of apartheid South Africa, who tried to save her son from the cruelty of the world.

“The world doesn’t love you. If the police get you, the police don’t love you. When I beat you, I’m trying to save you. When they beat you, they’re trying to kill you.”

The last chapters had me sobbing which was something that I hadn’t anticipated. Trevor mentions his step-father in the early chapters in passing, like a dark cloud that hung over his family’s life. I wasn’t prepared for the deeply troubling and heartbreaking portrait of a loving family ripped apart by abuse and the failures of law enforcement to prevent tragedy despite numerous attempts to get help.

I was already a fan of Trevor Noah, having watched some of his stand-up comedy and was overjoyed when he took over The Daily Show. From this memoir I have a newfound respect for Trevor not only for the horrendous abuse and racism he has endured, but how he allowed these things to shape who he is. He approaches issues of race, identity, poverty, and abuse with honesty and was able to articulate his feelings on topics that I have been struggling with for years. This memoir was surprisingly cathartic to me as someone that has struggled both with a mixed racial background and as a survivor of domestic abuse.

This was a wonderful memoir that really showcased that even in the darkest of places one can still find hope and strength in love. It was both insightful and laugh out loud funny, even if some of the humor could be viewed as highly offensive. I really enjoyed this memoir and am happy that I read it, it’s definitely going down on my shelf as a favorite.
  
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Domonique (0 KP) rated Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood in Books

May 12, 2018  
Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood
Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood
Trevor Noah | 2017 | Biography
10
9.2 (16 Ratings)
Book Rating
This was really good. I have been a Trevor Noah fan since my sister told me about him a few years ago and I watched one of his specials on Netflix. Then for my 1 year anniversary with my now husband, we saw him live and he was even better than on TV. When I found out he had written a book, I couldn't wait to read it and I am so glad that I did. It was enlightening, insightful, funny and very honest. I loved hearing about his relationship with his mother, how he came to know his father, learning more about apartheid and how that affected him as a mixed child growing up in South Africa and how he came to be where he is today. I actually listened to it as an audiobook, which I really enjoyed because he has such a soothing voice and he is great at doing variations and inflections on his voice to make it sound younger, older or pretty much anything. Bottom line, it was a great read and it makes me respect and love Trevor Noah even more.