Reviews tagging 'Domestic abuse'

Glæpur við fæðingu by Trevor Noah, Helga Soffía Einarsdóttir

424 reviews

ada_elisabeth's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense fast-paced

3.75

This was my second time reading this: I skimmed through it a few summers ago out of sheer boredom and found it decent, but we were assigned it as summer reading for AP Lang this year so I'm writing it a proper review now. 

I'll start out by saying that I did enjoy this book. I thought the storytelling was good, I thought the way mother-son relationships were highlighted, and I liked that it featured three of my favorite things: race, class, and masculinity. Noah did a fantastic job of balancing the deeper, less funny moments of his childhood with lighthearted stories and memories, which kept this from being too depressing. I also appreciate how short and segmented it was: making non-fiction accessible and interesting is very difficult, but the way this read like a collection of short stories rather than one connected text made it a more enjoyable reading experience.

However, there were a few things I didn't like. It often felt that stories would end without resolution and then the topic would switch to something entirely different, which was a little annoying. Some parts of the story and the usage of certain phrases also struck me as being somewhat misogynistic. I understand that Trevor Noah is a man, and therefore the book centers around his experiences as a man, but there were some parts that felt a little sexist to me. Also, I wasn't always a huge fan of his writing style: I know that he's primarily a comedian, so I wasn't expecting incredible writing or anything, but I still felt like there were certain chapters that fell a little flat. 

I also really liked the final chapter. Although it was heartbreaking and painful to read, I think it was so necessary. Trevor's mother not being able to press charges against her abusive husband because the police told her it would 'ruin his life' was so infuriating to me because it happens to so many women across the world: the minimizing of a woman's fear and pain and suffering to protect a man's ego and reputation.

 

I always appreciate reading about something I don't know much about, and overall, I really enjoyed this, so I'll give it a 3.75 rounded up. Not my favorite, but when is assigned reading ever my favorite? 

“You want to live in a world where someone is good or bad. Where you either hate them or love them. But that's not how people are.”

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse

Moderate: Gun violence, Animal cruelty, and Animal death

Minor: Rape

martideno's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny hopeful informative reflective medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicide and Domestic abuse

angelofmusic317's review against another edition

emotional funny medium-paced

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Alcoholism, Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, Gun violence, Child abuse, and Domestic abuse

kchantry's review against another edition

dark emotional funny tense medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Animal death, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Racism, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Blood, Colonisation, Bullying, Animal cruelty, and Alcoholism

Moderate: Bullying, Addiction, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Car accident, Classism, Confinement, Cursing, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Hate crime, Medical content, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Sexism, and Violence

Minor: Vomit and Toxic friendship

lizbeachy's review against another edition

emotional funny reflective medium-paced

5.0

I read this book before travelling to South Africa for field school. It was really helpful in learning about the lived experience of South Africans during apartheid and set me up with knowledge to reflect on while I learned and experienced things on my trip. Trevor Noah’s writing combines elements of humour and emotion in a way that blend seamlessly and make this biography such an enjoyable read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse and Gun violence

mkw1lson's review against another edition

funny informative lighthearted reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

Whenever I am asked for a book recommendation, without fail, this is the first one that comes to mind. There is a lot of laughter, as to be expected, but so much more than that as the book will take you through a roller-coaster of emotions.

Simply perfect. 5 stars. Do yourself a favour and read this book.

Better yet, get the audiobook too! 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Domestic abuse and Racism

lo_lo_ma's review against another edition

emotional funny informative inspiring medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse and Gun violence

Moderate: Child abuse and Racism

kemmie's review against another edition

funny reflective medium-paced

5.0

The best decision I made was choosing to read this book. The better decision was choosing to listen to it as an audiobook instead. It felt less like a memoir and more of a history and sociology lecture. An exciting history and sociology lecture. I have learnt so much about South Africa- the culture... the dynamics of race and apartheid. Most importantly I got a human story about the people through the tiny glimpse offered by the perspective of one person. Trevor is a brilliant story teller... intelligent, witty and oh so funny. The only negative thing I have to say is that this book left me craving for more.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Racism

Minor: Domestic abuse

cbingen520's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Racism, and Child abuse

Moderate: Slavery, Animal cruelty, Violence, Colonisation, Pregnancy, Drug abuse, Murder, Sexism, Police brutality, Gun violence, and Classism

Minor: Antisemitism, Suicide, and Mental illness

mayatorres's review against another edition

emotional funny inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse