Reviews tagging 'Sexism'

Born a Crime: Stories From a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah

62 reviews

tayrod4594's review

emotional funny inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

This memoir is absolutely stunning. It's an unflinching, honest portrait of South Africa, of how the various influences might combine to create a man whose greatest quality is his empathy. He makes no bones about the harsh realities of poverty, racism, domestic abuse, and crime; however, he doesn't position himself or his loved ones as victims or martyrs. It's simply the reality, and humor and hope are an ever-present thread weaving together his history.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Classism, Misogyny, Child abuse, Violence, Toxic relationship, Racism, Blood, and Colonisation

Moderate: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Racial slurs, Police brutality, Addiction, Sexism, Car accident, and Child abuse

gwenswoons's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark funny informative inspiring sad tense medium-paced

4.0

Liked this a lot - lots of beautiful storytelling, tons of deep history about South African apartheid told in really personal ways, and an unusual balance of comedy and vivid, traumatic, clear information that Trevor Noah does so well. The structure, for me, wasn’t totally successful - I think the word “Stories” in the title is key, and it’s definitely built more like vignettes - to my reading, it was often not entirely successful from the extent of the non-sequitur - than like a traditional memoir (I’m not a major memoir reader anyway, so I was ok with this! But the timeline leaps and unrelated stories sometimes felt like they could have been built into a slightly more effective arc). I listened on audio, and can’t recommend it enough - he’s obviously such a great narrator, so funny, so inflected and beautiful (and, so amazing hearing him switch between different languages in different stories - I loved!!). Can’t imagine reading this NOT on audio! I’ll def read more of his books as he writes them 💜

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Hate crime, Medical content, Body horror, Gaslighting, Gore, Child abuse, Murder, Police brutality, Toxic relationship, Bullying, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Grief, Colonisation, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Classism, Sexism, Stalking, Violence, War, Animal cruelty, Addiction, Alcohol, and Blood

elyssajoh's review against another edition

dark emotional funny informative reflective sad tense slow-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Death, Gun violence, Violence, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Child abuse, and Alcohol

Moderate: Hate crime, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Slavery, Addiction, Animal cruelty, Medical content, Misogyny, Blood, Grief, Classism, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Sexism, Toxic relationship, and Bullying

Minor: Vomit, Suicide, and Suicidal thoughts

zoegupta's review

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective tense medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Physical abuse, Violence, Racial slurs, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Gore, Drug use, Addiction, Racism, Alcohol, Blood, Colonisation, Animal death, Misogyny, Domestic abuse, Police brutality, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, and Sexism

ressicajicks's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective fast-paced

5.0

Yeah okay survivor of an abusive alcoholic stepfather figure take my 5 star rating. I finished this book sobbing

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Sexism, Slavery, Kidnapping, Alcoholism, Colonisation, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Xenophobia, Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, Medical trauma, Misogyny, and Racism

rubbertree14's review

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative reflective tense medium-paced

5.0

Learned so much both about colonialism in South Africa and its history as well as Trevor Noah. He is so funny and has an excellent balance of seriousness as well as humor. Very enjoyable read, though sad and eye-opening. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Racism, Murder, Toxic relationship, Injury/Injury detail, Domestic abuse, Child abuse, Alcoholism, Violence, Sexual violence, Police brutality, Gun violence, Emotional abuse, and Colonisation

saskiahill's review against another edition

challenging funny reflective medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Slavery, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Alcoholism, Pregnancy, Blood, Drug use, Rape, Emotional abuse, Alcohol, Abandonment, Suicidal thoughts, and Sexism

Minor: Murder

arifairy's review

adventurous emotional funny inspiring tense fast-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Murder, Racial slurs, Domestic abuse, Racism, and Sexism

noahsingh's review

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Sexism, Alcoholism, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Misogyny, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Colonisation, and Gun violence

Moderate: Medical trauma, Bullying, Stalking, Police brutality, Animal cruelty, Car accident, Addiction, Animal death, Medical content, Confinement, Classism, Rape, and Kidnapping

Minor: Slavery and Suicidal thoughts

peachythi_books's review

dark emotional funny inspiring fast-paced

4.0

The book itself is not linear in its story telling. As the quote on the book says “ It is a series of personal essays.” Trevor Noah’s life is so much more complicated and fascinating then I could have ever imagined. His ideas on race, gender, and hierarchical systems are incredible. He has such nuanced thoughts and ideas and he manages to write about his mother in such a beautiful way I actually cried. I would so I was shocked that such a hilarious person had such a difficult and traumatic childhood but that is probably the reason why he is so funny. His life has given him such a complex outlook on the world and loved reading more on his personal thoughts in this novel. It is exciting, and moving, and addresses so many cultural and social issues that he has personally come across. It is also extremely gritty, and honest. I love the fact that his comedy career and eventual rise to fame was not at all a subject of this book. Barely even a passing comment. They truly are stories of a South African Childhood.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Domestic abuse, and Gun violence

Moderate: Classism, Colonisation, Suicidal thoughts, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Xenophobia, Abandonment, Cultural appropriation, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Sexism, Addiction, Alcoholism, and Child abuse

Minor: Animal death and Sexism