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4.56 AVERAGE
4.56 AVERAGE
adventurous
funny
hopeful
informative
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Born a Crime by Trevor Noah is a free NetGalley ebook that I read in early November, mostly during the aftermath of a fretful, confounding election that was informed by the dutiful, enlightening Daily Show.
Born a Crime is not in the least bit a crime - it taught me an exceeding amount about South African culture, dialects, street politics, the shadowed legacy of apartheid, as well as being intelligently frugal and the alternatingly tenuous and ironclad bonds of family.
Born a Crime is not in the least bit a crime - it taught me an exceeding amount about South African culture, dialects, street politics, the shadowed legacy of apartheid, as well as being intelligently frugal and the alternatingly tenuous and ironclad bonds of family.
This made me adore Trevor even more than I already had.
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
Only the highest respect for such a vivid narrator turning even his grimmest of experiences growing up in pre- and post-Apartheid South Africa into exciting stories. Challenging does not cover it: South African comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, actor, and television host Trevor Noah made his life story, Born A Crime as an illegal mixed race child, truly come alive — the purest of giggles and tears included. Of course, his mother played a huge role in how he handled his swings. And yes: his survival mode might be taking its toll now later in life (given his more recent outings of depression due to ADHD). Nevertheless, Trevor Noah becomes ever more charming. Moreover, this writing feat succeeded in interspersing his rebellion and outsmarting up to pre-career with sufficient societal backbone and critique of what daily life felt like. As in segregation at a fresh and real, albeit intimate level… but trauma explained for plural generations.
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
challenging
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
4.5 stars - we’re going to ignore trevor’s poor taste in jokes at this year’s grammys and focus on this beautiful memoir lol. i listened to this on audio and i 100% recommend that to anyone interested. hearing trevor tell his story, reading his words, with his voice made the experience 10x better. he somehow made such heavy topics and themes seem lighthearted without neglecting the gravity of the situations he was in. you can easily see the love he has for his mother throughout the book. this was well written and gave me some new found knowledge on south african culture. it was interesting to hear someone’s first hand experience living in south africa as a mixed child. the only thing that threw me off was the non-chronological telling of stories but it was easy to orient myself when i realized what was happening. this is pretty funny though — id def recommend!
Really interesting commentary on apartheid and how history can be told to ensure that people can learn from their mistakes
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
I listened to this book on Audible, narrated by the author, Trevor Noah.
I picked this up because I like Noah on The Daily Show, and I enjoyed a memoir by another comedian, Tina Fey. I also have a soft spot for South Africa, so I thought that even if it wasn't very funny, I would enjoy reading about Johannesburg around the time apartheid ended.
This book wasn't at all what I expected. This book was amazing.
While the stories told by Noah are sometimes funny and often wry, Born A Crime was actually equally sweet, compelling, and sad. It's a moving tribute to Noah's mother, a black Xhosa woman who defied tradition and oppression to raise a son by a white lover. This may not seem like much of a problem today, but there was zero tolerance for the 'crime' of race-mixing in apartheid South Africa. Ms. Noah had to pretend she was Trevor's nursemaid in public - he would have been sent away to live in an orphanage if they had been caught.
I have studied South African history, yet I was surprised by some of Noah's anecdotes. Academic books do not personalize apartheid, nor do they illustrate the infinite injustices experienced daily by non-whites. Still, the book is not about apartheid - it's about how Noah and his amazing mother lived in spite of it.
I found myself making crazy faces while listening to this in the car - the part about Hitler the dancer (yes, he was really named Hitler, and you will learn how that is possible) is especially noteworthy. Noah got into some insane shenanigans growing up.
There is one story, early on, that might offend some people. It's about poop, and Noah says "shit" at least 50 times. This is an anomaly, and the only other curse words in the book (and there aren't many) are quotes. Once you start reading about the problem of flies around outhouses, skip ahead a bit if you object to this kind of language. The rest of the book is absolutely worth it. (And the ending includes an unexpected but moving affirmation of faith.)
I highly recommend this memoir if you are looking for a touching and funny story about family, or if you are interested in modern Africa or Trevor Noah.
I picked this up because I like Noah on The Daily Show, and I enjoyed a memoir by another comedian, Tina Fey. I also have a soft spot for South Africa, so I thought that even if it wasn't very funny, I would enjoy reading about Johannesburg around the time apartheid ended.
This book wasn't at all what I expected. This book was amazing.
While the stories told by Noah are sometimes funny and often wry, Born A Crime was actually equally sweet, compelling, and sad. It's a moving tribute to Noah's mother, a black Xhosa woman who defied tradition and oppression to raise a son by a white lover. This may not seem like much of a problem today, but there was zero tolerance for the 'crime' of race-mixing in apartheid South Africa. Ms. Noah had to pretend she was Trevor's nursemaid in public - he would have been sent away to live in an orphanage if they had been caught.
I have studied South African history, yet I was surprised by some of Noah's anecdotes. Academic books do not personalize apartheid, nor do they illustrate the infinite injustices experienced daily by non-whites. Still, the book is not about apartheid - it's about how Noah and his amazing mother lived in spite of it.
I found myself making crazy faces while listening to this in the car - the part about Hitler the dancer (yes, he was really named Hitler, and you will learn how that is possible) is especially noteworthy. Noah got into some insane shenanigans growing up.
There is one story, early on, that might offend some people. It's about poop, and Noah says "shit" at least 50 times. This is an anomaly, and the only other curse words in the book (and there aren't many) are quotes. Once you start reading about the problem of flies around outhouses, skip ahead a bit if you object to this kind of language. The rest of the book is absolutely worth it. (And the ending includes an unexpected but moving affirmation of faith.)
I highly recommend this memoir if you are looking for a touching and funny story about family, or if you are interested in modern Africa or Trevor Noah.