miguelita's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
fast-paced
5.0
libraryjen's review against another edition
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
Absolutely fascinating and a compelling read. If I had read the print copy instead of listening to the audio, I might have given it 4.5 stars, but there's too much unnecessary profanity that grated on my ears. However, listening to the various dialects/accents from Noah himself was definitely worth it.
A lot of interesting stories and some great points made proving that race is nothing but a social construct. I particularly loved the analogy of "teaching a man to fish" but not giving him a fishing pole. POWERFUL! #Truth
I highly recommend this book, Noah and his mother are amazingly strong, resilient people. I would love to hear more about his life after the end of this book.
A lot of interesting stories and some great points made proving that race is nothing but a social construct. I particularly loved the analogy of "teaching a man to fish" but not giving him a fishing pole. POWERFUL! #Truth
I highly recommend this book, Noah and his mother are amazingly strong, resilient people. I would love to hear more about his life after the end of this book.
xdaqua's review against another edition
4.0
Trevor Noah's memoir.
So funny. so moving. and with a plot twist.
Are all comedian's memoirs this entertaining? Cuz if so where can I get my next read.
Little Trevor was honestly soo loveable. his mischievous tales are the best.
memorable things about the book:
‣ Trevor's being a boy of color and the advantages (as well as troubles) it brought him.
‣ most notably the witchcraft and his nana tale, I laughed so hard xD
‣ Entrepreneur Trevor, Hitler, and the Gang.
‣ Fufi and Noah, and love advice xD.
‣ Dating as an African child (cuz I am African xD).
‣ MOST IMPORTANTLY Trevor and his mom Patricia (ALL THROUGHOUT THE BOOK, seriously from beginning to end).
Absolutely amazing
So funny. so moving. and with a plot twist.
Are all comedian's memoirs this entertaining? Cuz if so where can I get my next read.
Little Trevor was honestly soo loveable. his mischievous tales are the best.
memorable things about the book:
‣ Trevor's being a boy of color and the advantages (as well as troubles) it brought him.
‣ most notably the witchcraft and his nana tale, I laughed so hard xD
‣ Entrepreneur Trevor, Hitler, and the Gang.
‣ Fufi and Noah, and love advice xD.
‣ Dating as an African child (cuz I am African xD).
‣ MOST IMPORTANTLY Trevor and his mom Patricia (ALL THROUGHOUT THE BOOK, seriously from beginning to end).
Absolutely amazing
jevonmommy's review against another edition
5.0
The best memoir I've ever read!!! Such a great book!
danibeliveau's review against another edition
4.0
I've had a crush on Trevor Noah without knowing much about him besides his TV personality. Maybe I was biased going into this book. But his stories about his experiences under apartheid and, later, democratic South Africa only made me like him more.
These vignettes range from hilarious to mundane to heartbreaking. The picture he paints of his mother - brave, rebellious, optimistic, deeply religious - was especially touching. What I found most impressive about this memoir, though, was the persistent underlying theme of criminality across the whole work, from being born to a mixed-race couple, to being a young neighborhood rapscallion, to selling counterfeit CDs and electronics as a young adult in one of the poorer townships. Each story from Trevor's childhood and adolescence clearly demonstrates the morally ambiguous (or, at the very least, relative) nature of crime itself, especially under an inherently inhuman regime such as apartheid.
Trevor has some wise things to say the interplay of race, poverty, privilege, and power. He highlights the impossibility of forced racial divides and also, paradoxically, how strongly it affected him growing up, particularly as he developed his own sense of self. He does a great job of making South Africa come alive as well, becoming almost its own character in a supporting role in Trevor's early life. Truthfully, I was hoping for a discussion of how he came to be such a recognizable face in the United States, but it quickly became obvious that that would have been out of place in this book. It would have interrupted an otherwise entirely cohesive narrative.
A word of warning, though: I cried very openly, very much in public, while reading the last chapter. You might want to save that part for the privacy of your own home.
These vignettes range from hilarious to mundane to heartbreaking. The picture he paints of his mother - brave, rebellious, optimistic, deeply religious - was especially touching. What I found most impressive about this memoir, though, was the persistent underlying theme of criminality across the whole work, from being born to a mixed-race couple, to being a young neighborhood rapscallion, to selling counterfeit CDs and electronics as a young adult in one of the poorer townships. Each story from Trevor's childhood and adolescence clearly demonstrates the morally ambiguous (or, at the very least, relative) nature of crime itself, especially under an inherently inhuman regime such as apartheid.
Trevor has some wise things to say the interplay of race, poverty, privilege, and power. He highlights the impossibility of forced racial divides and also, paradoxically, how strongly it affected him growing up, particularly as he developed his own sense of self. He does a great job of making South Africa come alive as well, becoming almost its own character in a supporting role in Trevor's early life. Truthfully, I was hoping for a discussion of how he came to be such a recognizable face in the United States, but it quickly became obvious that that would have been out of place in this book. It would have interrupted an otherwise entirely cohesive narrative.
A word of warning, though: I cried very openly, very much in public, while reading the last chapter. You might want to save that part for the privacy of your own home.
jreisacher7's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
savannalorena5517's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
5.0