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A review by twellz
Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah
5.0
First of all:
I LOVE Trevor Noah.
I loved him BEFORE I read this memoir. I am an avid fan of The Daily Show. He is a comedic genius & puts Trump in his place every single day. AND, I think Trevor & his dimples are absolutely adorable!
So...if you’re still reading this review, you’ll love this book. Born a Crime: what a PERFECT title! It reminds us of how important it is to understand other people’s history & walk in their shoes.
Set in Trevor’s birth place (South Africa)...it is a coming of age story you can’t put down. Interestingly, I just finished a historical fiction book called Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead. The parallels are heart wrenching: Slavery. Racism. It’s an ugly piece of America. In South Africa, Apartheid reminded me of “separate but equal,” expanded to greater cruelties.
“In America you had the forced removal of the native onto reservations coupled with slavery followed by segregation. Imagine all three of those things happening to the same group of people at the same time. That was apartheid.”
Trevor stresses the advantages of speaking several languages “language, even more than color, defines who you are to people”. He battles domestic abuse and advocates for the injustice of the treatment of woman. His relationship with his mother is very heartwarming. She tells him “Learn from your past and be better because of your past...but don’t cry about your past. Life is full of pain. Let the pain sharpen you, but don’t hold on to it. Don’t be bitter.”
However, the one thing you won’t feel after reading Born a Crime is sorry for Trevor Noah. Amazingly, the book isn’t a downer. Somehow he tells his tales with humor, humility & an honesty that makes you want to hug him.
I highly recommend this book...but, only after watching a few clips of the Daily Show. Once you have heard Trevor Noah’s voice, it will carry you through the story like he is reading it to you. This is one of my favorite memoirs of all time!
“You cannot blame anyone else for what you do. You cannot blame your past for who you are. You are responsible for you. You make your own choices.”
~Trevor Noah
I LOVE Trevor Noah.
I loved him BEFORE I read this memoir. I am an avid fan of The Daily Show. He is a comedic genius & puts Trump in his place every single day. AND, I think Trevor & his dimples are absolutely adorable!
So...if you’re still reading this review, you’ll love this book. Born a Crime: what a PERFECT title! It reminds us of how important it is to understand other people’s history & walk in their shoes.
Set in Trevor’s birth place (South Africa)...it is a coming of age story you can’t put down. Interestingly, I just finished a historical fiction book called Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead. The parallels are heart wrenching: Slavery. Racism. It’s an ugly piece of America. In South Africa, Apartheid reminded me of “separate but equal,” expanded to greater cruelties.
“In America you had the forced removal of the native onto reservations coupled with slavery followed by segregation. Imagine all three of those things happening to the same group of people at the same time. That was apartheid.”
Trevor stresses the advantages of speaking several languages “language, even more than color, defines who you are to people”. He battles domestic abuse and advocates for the injustice of the treatment of woman. His relationship with his mother is very heartwarming. She tells him “Learn from your past and be better because of your past...but don’t cry about your past. Life is full of pain. Let the pain sharpen you, but don’t hold on to it. Don’t be bitter.”
However, the one thing you won’t feel after reading Born a Crime is sorry for Trevor Noah. Amazingly, the book isn’t a downer. Somehow he tells his tales with humor, humility & an honesty that makes you want to hug him.
I highly recommend this book...but, only after watching a few clips of the Daily Show. Once you have heard Trevor Noah’s voice, it will carry you through the story like he is reading it to you. This is one of my favorite memoirs of all time!
“You cannot blame anyone else for what you do. You cannot blame your past for who you are. You are responsible for you. You make your own choices.”
~Trevor Noah