Scan barcode
Reviews tagging 'Slavery'
Born a Crime: Stories From a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah
56 reviews
clarabooksit's review against another edition
3.5
Noah is clever, nerdy and funny and this memoir showcases that. His love of South Africa, where he came from and his mother are apparent on every page, even as he’a cracking jokes about them. I especially enjoyed learning a lot about South Africa.
Where the book let me down is in its lack of emotional resonance. That and it was very obviously written for a U.S. American audience, which felt confining even if I’m a part of that audience.
Noah has lived a fascinating life full of sticky, incredible and awful moments, but his voice remains distant like the person at a party who tells wild and traumatic stories for laughs without registering how deeply personal they are. While there’s a great deal of reflection in the book, it all felt anecdotal to me. The format of the book also makes every story feel like a lesson and that didn’t quite work for me.
To be fair, that may be more of a reflection on me than the book. I did like it: it’s zippy, I learned a lot, it made me laugh and at the very end, it made me cry. But it didn’t thrill me. Would still recommend.
Graphic: Colonisation, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Slavery, Alcoholism, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Violence, Xenophobia, Classism, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, and Child abuse
Moderate: Bullying, Body shaming, Medical content, Fire/Fire injury, Drug use, Excrement, Police brutality, and Slavery
Minor: Animal cruelty and Rape
nils_0's review against another edition
2.5
Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Colonisation, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Racism, Slavery, Child abuse, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, and Violence
Minor: Pregnancy, Murder, and Kidnapping
ladyzbyrd's review
5.0
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Cursing, Violence, Racism, Injury/Injury detail, Alcoholism, Toxic relationship, Police brutality, Misogyny, Gaslighting, Classism, Suicidal thoughts, Slavery, and Physical abuse
andra_mihaela_s's review
4.5
This book was as great as I expected!
Trevor himself narrates it and it truly does add the necessary emotions! I highly recommend listening to this book!
Content Warning: the horrors of apartheid, abuse, rasism (on a whole other level than what I've read before!..both systematic and individual); police brutality, attempted murder, organised crime;etc
As beautiful this book was with it's moments about Trevor's shenanigans as a child, his first crush on a girl, the banter with his mom, Patricia, and his whole family, as heart wrenching it was when he moved to his strained relationship with his dad due to distance, the absolute appalling ways in which apartheid divided people and induced rasism in them towards others; how unfair and completely mindblowing it was to be anything but white in South Africa - from work available to you, education (don't get me started on that one...I find it disgusting how ignorant people usually blame natives or just all black people of Africa for their countries not 'progressing as it used to'...>..>); how all these affected him and how differential that can be based on skin shade and centuries of indoctrination 0_0 .
I also loved his view on what criminality means to people with and without means and how easy lines can be erased based on what options you have. The courage to speak about that...0_0..once again...amazing audiobook!
The only reason this book isn't a 5 star for me...it's the few moments in which the events change without a clear denomination...even with him reading to me, I still had a hard time figuring out that we change subjects/ events.
I highly recommend you to read this book if you want to learn a bit more about South Africa through the eyes of a child, a mixed South African child. You won't regret it!
Trevor acknowledges the small privilege he had growing up as a child of a white man, and gives such a depth and needed context why he is the way he is, why comedy is such an important part of his life and more or less, he gives you, the reader, basis in understanding his material...as you find out so much more than a basic story about some celebrity!
Enjoy
Graphic: Racism, Cultural appropriation, Toxic relationship, Police brutality, Murder, Genocide, Colonisation, Alcoholism, Violence, Slavery, and Sexism
Moderate: Child abuse and Domestic abuse
leojpeg's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Animal death, Racism, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Violence
Minor: Rape and Slavery
lindasoderlundd's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Physical abuse, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Misogyny, and Racism
Moderate: Slavery, Toxic relationship, Child abuse, Gaslighting, and Gore
Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Cursing, Pregnancy, Suicidal thoughts, and Drug use
thesapphiccelticbookworm's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Police brutality, Domestic abuse, Racism, Child abuse, Colonisation, Gun violence, and Violence
Moderate: Religious bigotry and Suicide
Minor: Pregnancy, Slavery, and War
jacquy's review
4.5
Graphic: Racism, Alcoholism, Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, Violence, Gun violence, and Addiction
Moderate: Blood and Child abuse
Minor: Genocide, Slavery, and Animal cruelty
sabrina_d_arcy's review
5.0
Moderate: Xenophobia, Classism, Colonisation, Cursing, Drug use, Alcohol, Emotional abuse, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Stalking, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Addiction, Blood, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Rape, Racism, Child abuse, Gun violence, Misogyny, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Slavery, Violence, Physical abuse, and Police brutality
Minor: Abandonment, Antisemitism, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Kidnapping, Animal cruelty, Addiction, and Excrement
achay91's review
3.75
Graphic: Colonisation, Domestic abuse, Racism, Child abuse, Classism, Violence, and Gun violence
Moderate: Animal cruelty and Confinement
Minor: Alcohol, Rape, and Slavery