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ada_elisabeth's review against another edition
3.75
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 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.”
Graphic: Domestic abuse
Moderate: Gun violence, Animal cruelty, and Animal death
Minor: Rape
angelofmusic317's review against another edition
2.75
Graphic: Violence, Alcoholism, Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, Gun violence, Child abuse, and Domestic abuse
kchantry's review against another edition
5.0
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
5.0
Graphic: Domestic abuse and Gun violence
lo_lo_ma's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Domestic abuse and Gun violence
Moderate: Child abuse and Racism
jmelauren's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Gun violence, Cursing, and Racism
cbingen520's review against another edition
5.0
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
bisonprints's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Racism, Animal death, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Misogyny, Bullying, Violence, Classism, Colonisation, and Domestic abuse
am4man's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Racism, and Gun violence
grays_opinion's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Domestic abuse, Classism, Xenophobia, Child abuse, Colonisation, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, and Racism
Minor: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, and Animal death