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Suswatibasu (1703 KP) rated Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood in Books
Jan 3, 2018
An insider's view of Apartheid
It seems unlikely that comedian Trevor Noah would have ever made it out of the prison of colonialism, apartheid, poverty and violence, yet now he's regarded as one of South Africa's biggest export. His memoir is brutal and harrowing, describing how because of the illegal interracial relationship between his Xhosa mother and his Swiss-German, his birth was actually a crime.
It's hard to imagine that this legal segregation only ended 26 years ago, yet Noah then faced the turbulent legacy of post-apartheid. Being mixed race posed its own problems, as Noah describes never fitting in anywhere, but being accepted to a certain degree because of his 'whiteness' and his chameleon-like ability to adapt to his surroundings.
There are moments which are truly disturbing, as Noah speaks about his violent stepfather and going hungry. In this way, his life can be seen as a story of personal survival, through intelligence and humour, which millions have come to love.
It's hard to imagine that this legal segregation only ended 26 years ago, yet Noah then faced the turbulent legacy of post-apartheid. Being mixed race posed its own problems, as Noah describes never fitting in anywhere, but being accepted to a certain degree because of his 'whiteness' and his chameleon-like ability to adapt to his surroundings.
There are moments which are truly disturbing, as Noah speaks about his violent stepfather and going hungry. In this way, his life can be seen as a story of personal survival, through intelligence and humour, which millions have come to love.
tapestry100 (306 KP) rated Renato Jones: The One%, Season 1 in Books
Aug 2, 2017
Renato Jones was born into privilege, died because of that privilege, was reborn again through that privilege, and now he spends his time between being one of the ONES, the top 1% wealthiest people in the world, and the Freelancer, making sure that the ONES still know their place in the world. Making definite nods to Frank Miller (I'm not familiar with Andrews work, so I don't know if his artistic and writing styles are usually this influenced by Miller, but it is quite clear in this book), this first volume of Renato Jones is a hyper-stylized, hyper-violent, hyper-sensational free for all that seems eerily prescient of today's political atmosphere. The book is cleverly constructed, with fake ads throughout that mock the ridiculous over the top nature of the super rich in the book. Personally, I'm thoroughly intrigued to see where Andrews is going to take this series so will be following along for sure.