Reviews tagging 'Fire/Fire injury'

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

30 reviews

mondovertigo's review

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dark emotional funny reflective sad fast-paced

4.5


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taibreakfast's review against another edition

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funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

Somehow manages to be massively funny and easy to read while delving into serious topics with incredible clarity and insight. Highly recommend!

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voicenextdoor's review against another edition

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challenging emotional funny medium-paced

4.0


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filipa_maia's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny informative inspiring lighthearted reflective sad tense fast-paced

4.5

I'm such a huge fan of Trevor Noah and this book was on my TBR list for so long... I was really excited about this read. I'm usually not a fan of autobiographies (biographies in general) but I could not pass this one.

I really enjoyed this book. Is so effortlessly written, almost like a conversation.  The story goes back and forth with such grace and detail that the reader feels like its actually a one-on-one talk with Trevor.

Trevor as a very unique way of describing whats around him. Its a very funny, but serious way of telling us what was like to born and live being someone who does not belong. But this book is so much more that just a story about Trevor's life. Is all about a time period that changed an entire country and its people forever. Its very interesting the way this book describes such dark times through the eyes of a child and, later, with the proper interpretation of an adult. More than 30 years after the end of apartheid people still live surrounded by its "ghost"... its not there anymore but its presence is still felt.

Everyone, no matter what your race is, your age, where you are from, should read this book. We all should learn what happened during (and after) apartheid, because when we forget the past we are bound to repeat the same mistakes.

P.S.: I believe there is a quote very similar to this by a philosopher, but this is a saying that I really like.

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cnnr876's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective fast-paced

5.0

6 / 5 stars. I loved loved loved this book. Best audiobook I've ever listened to. His intertwining of personal stories with historical commentary of the development of apartheid and South Africa was incredibly impactful. I have no notes!

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jacob_dion's review

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emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring fast-paced

5.0


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clarabooksit's review against another edition

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funny inspiring reflective fast-paced

3.5

This is good—not as good as the hype claims, but enjoyable. If you like Noah’s comedy and especially his delivery style, you’ll like this.

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.

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ali_k0's review

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emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective fast-paced

3.75

These fast past essays paint a vivid picture of a childhood in Apartaid and Post Apartaid South Africa. It is sad, joyful and victorious. A fascinating tale for anyone wishing to journey into nonfiction and. It 

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lindasoderlundd's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective fast-paced

5.0


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nrogers_1030's review

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emotional funny reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0


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