Reviews with content warning for Alcoholism - Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood

This book is absolutely magnificent. It's fast paced and easy to read, because each chapter is a totally new short story from Trevor's childhood in South Africa. The way he writes is hilarious, and he talks about global issues and themes through his unique upbringing and identity. I would recommend this book to anyone :)

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lettyleaf's review against another edition

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emotional funny informative inspiring sad fast-paced

4.0

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rosieyxl's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful reflective medium-paced

4.0

"For my mother. My first fan. Thank you for making me a man."

Born A Crime is a hilarious yet poignant memoir from comedian Trevor Noah about his upbringing in South Africa as the country slowly shed itself of the apartheid skin.

I learned a lot from this book. It covered heavy topics like racism, crime, domestic abuse, and many more without making the writing incredibly tense or dull. This is a book that changed my perspective on a lot of things, with many memorable passages/scenes that I doubt I'll forget. Some quotes in particular which really stuck with me and gave me a moment of realization include:

"People don't want to be rich. They want to be able to choose. The richer you are, the more choices you have. That is the freedom of money."
"They're free, they've been taught how to fish, but no one will give them a fishing rod."
"They were men first, and police second."

This collection of stories is written in a very genuine, straightforward way, almost as though Trevor was delivering the entire book as a monologue on the Daily Show. He manages to convey his mother's (tough) love and devotion to him which propelled him through his coming-of-age, and this is the main theme which weaves through the entire collection. Regardless of whether he's hustling in the hood or getting to church on minibus, his mother was a constant.

This invisible thread ties the entire book together beautifully, and the ending was especially touching. I very much enjoyed the read.

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yaniji's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful informative lighthearted sad fast-paced

4.75

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miak2's review against another edition

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challenging emotional funny informative reflective fast-paced

5.0

People love to say, “Give a man a fish, and he’ll eat for a day. Teach a man to fish, and he’ll eat for a lifetime.” What they don’t say is, “And it would be nice if you gave him a fishing rod.” That’s the part of the analogy that’s missing.

I always feel so weird writing reviews for people's memoirs, because who am I to critique someone's life stories? Good thing I have absolutely nothing bad to say about this one.

Despite the often-heavy subject material, the book was filled with levity. Noah is such an engaging storyteller who's perfected balancing gravity with humor. I found it to be perfectly paced. He told deep stories on complex topics, but it never felt like a slog to get through. I feel like I know him personally now, having finished it, but I also learned a great deal. It's embarrassing (but not surprising) how little I knew about the apartheid previously (thanks, Lakota). Noah really conveyed the experience of living under apartheid and the complex dynamics that emerged across tribes, race, and language. Specifically, he talked a lot about his experiences navigating social groups, even his family, as a lighter-skinned mixed-race person.

Growing up the way I did, I learned how easy it is for white people to get comfortable with a system that awards them all the perks. I knew my cousins were getting beaten for things that I'd done, but I wasn't interested in changing my grandmother's perspective, because that would mean I'd get beaten, too.

I loved hearing his personal stories. He was an expert at expressing the emotions he felt at pivotal moments in his life - fear, love, embarrassment, etc. His relationship with his mother was particularly engaging to read about; she's such a loving and strong woman. I only wish I could have experienced this book in audiobook format (come through for me, Indianapolis library!)

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lesty_gibbs's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

The thing I have always loved about Trevor Noah is how brilliant of a storyteller he is, and it certainly shines through here! Trevor has incredibly insightful social commentary (as always) which is peppered throughout his reflections on different stories that shaped his early life. I learned so much about South Africa, and the very grassroots impacts of apartheid which I don't think I'd have learned otherwise. Really really good book.

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