Reviews tagging 'Xenophobia'

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

35 reviews

smsegal's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Medical trauma, Domestic abuse, Racism, Violence, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Xenophobia, and Gun violence

peachythi_books's review against another edition

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

allapaz's review against another edition

3.5

I realize I'm in the minority on this, but this one didn't blow me away as far as memoirs go. It is an EXCELLENT discussion and depiction of real life in South Africa post-apartheid, and the parts that got real were really really good. What lost me in parts was Trevor Noah's humor in some places, and the jumping around in the timeline. I found it hard to keep track of what happened when when we'd get entirely new information/context like 3 chapters later. That last chapter about his mom though was 5000/5 stars

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Xenophobia, Gun violence, Racism, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Animal cruelty and Animal death

clarabooksit's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

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

nemonobody11's review against another edition

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

5.0

I have so much to say after finishing this book, but it will come later when I compose my thoughts. All you need to know for now is 5/5 incredible read

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Police brutality, Child abuse, Racism, Violence, Xenophobia, Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Alcohol, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Sexism, and Toxic relationship

ali_k0's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Domestic abuse, Classism, Racial slurs, Racism, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Alcohol, Child abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Addiction, and Alcoholism

jvsroxvs's review against another edition

funny hopeful medium-paced

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Xenophobia, and Domestic abuse

navyredrose's review against another edition

emotional funny lighthearted fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Police brutality, Racism, Sexism, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Excrement

Minor: Alcoholism, Gun violence, and Colonisation

leojpeg's review against another edition

5.0

a very moving book and quite a tough read at some points, an important book to read for those far removed from this life. Noahs story telling is incredibly direct and matter of fact no matter how seemingly extraordinary the circumstances it seems he's describing, giving the reader a much better understanding of just how normal these situations were and still are for some people. Really good book, definitely recommend,

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Racism, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Violence

Minor: Rape and Slavery

astridmalmhester's review against another edition

hopeful informative reflective fast-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Colonisation, Alcoholism, Racism, Sexism, and Police brutality

Moderate: Xenophobia and Child abuse