Reviews tagging 'Suicidal thoughts'

Nascido do crime by Trevor Noah

59 reviews

breadwitchery's review against another edition

emotional funny informative reflective medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Animal death, Police brutality, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: War, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, Death, Violence, Misogyny, Excrement, Sexual content, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Blood, Slavery, Mental illness, Pregnancy, Cursing, Alcoholism, Fatphobia, Genocide, Antisemitism, and Rape

caribbeangirlreading's review against another edition

emotional funny informative sad medium-paced

3.25

I will start by sharing my personal biases - I don’t watch late night TV and I’m not a fan of stand-up comedy.  I do not follow Noah’s career, but I do know who he is.  I love a good memoir but usually shy away from celebrity penned ones.  But you know, #bookstagrammademedoit 

Loved – On this one, Booksta was right.  This is a book that is best enjoyed via audio. I laughed out loud when Noah imitated his grandmother’s and mother’s voices and then would change his voice when it was little Trevor speaking. I also loved listening to Noah speak out loud in various African languages.  Had I only read the physical book, I would have skipped over the phrases and gone straight to the translation.  But listening to Noah speak in Xulu, Xhosa, Tsonga, etc. elevated the reading experience. That is what a great audiobook should do. 

Various themes explored – Being raised “white” by his mother (refusing to pass forward generational trauma); growing up feeling like an outsider due to his biracial identity; the complexities of race and ethnicity in South Africa; entrenched misogyny and patriarchy in traditional African society, etc. 

Disliked – Like any good comedian, Noah does not let facts get in the way of a good story.  There were a few inconsistencies in the book that jumped out and made me wonder where else he was embellishing the truth.  As expected, he used humor to tell stories. Sometimes it worked.  Sometimes it was horrifying.  I also felt that, like people in real life, he used humor to avoid vulnerability and intimacy with the reader.  Last, but not least, I give zero stars to the editing of this book.  If you are a fan, it might not bother you, but to me it felt like someone transcribed his comedy routines, slapped them together, and called it a memoir.  I understand this is not an autobiography, but the book lacked a narrative focus. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Racism, and Sexism

Moderate: Addiction

Minor: Suicidal thoughts

alayamorning's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny hopeful informative lighthearted reflective fast-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Domestic abuse, Racism, Toxic relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Child abuse, Hate crime, Misogyny, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Rape, Police brutality, and Slavery

Minor: Suicidal thoughts

ofpagesandparagraphs's review against another edition

inspiring tense medium-paced

4.0

In this memoir Trevor Noah dives right in to his childhood growing up in South Africa.  Boy does he have some stories to tell.  He has you cracking up at his antics and one-liners one minute and gasping the next.  I found this book both page-turning and eye-opening.  He also has a modified version of this book for middlegrade to YA kids (necessary due to language and content) that I am also interested in picking up to compare. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Racism, and Violence

Minor: Rape, Slavery, and Suicidal thoughts

kissievendor's review against another edition

emotional funny informative inspiring tense medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Xenophobia, Toxic relationship, and Racism

Moderate: Slavery and Alcoholism

Minor: Suicidal thoughts

empathephant's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional funny informative inspiring lighthearted reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.0

This book was different than I expected it to be (in a great way). I thought it would be more of a linear story that focused a lot on how he got to be a comedian/TV personality, but after reading I still have no clue about his early career. What it did talk about was his childhood. I knew it would discuss the effects of Apartheid, but each chapter was organized somewhat topically, string together personal stories examples and jumping in time to illustrate concepts of what South African life was like more than "his life story." I learned so much that I hadn't known previously about South Africa as an American. I highly recommend the audiobook. It is narrated by Trevor himself and he tells his story emotionally and powerfully, speaking many languages and even singing at one point. He made me laugh and feel sorrow and fear in the same book, making it easier to approach the heavy topics found within.

I think what another review said is a perfect description: "I...admired how he [told] his story as it is. He had every chance to glorify the life he lived in South Africa and he did not. To me, it was more like he wrote the book to shed light on the circumstances that kids like him grew up in rather than talk about his own life."

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Child abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Murder, Physical abuse, Racism, and Violence

Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal death, Confinement, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Hate crime, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Misogyny, Police brutality, Rape, and Slavery

The last chapter contains the most graphic descriptions of violence.

milliebrierley's review against another edition

dark emotional funny informative medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Blood, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Slavery

emakay's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Cursing, Excrement, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Vomit

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, and Slavery

lauraeerika's review against another edition

dark emotional funny informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Police brutality, Racism, Slavery, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Moderate: Alcoholism and Animal cruelty

Minor: Animal death and Suicidal thoughts