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A review by lindong524
Born a Crime: Stories From a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah
emotional
funny
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
It is a heartbreaking book disguised as comedy.
Noah gives us historical backgrounds, certainly, but he doesn't attempt to give a grand history of South Africa. But he told his history and, in turn, gave us glimpses into a country that I honestly know very little about. I don't think any readers are likely to forget how segregating apartheid was with the image of little Trevor chasing his fleeing white father down in a public park, screaming "daddy!" His father running away because, obviously, mingling and, especially, having children with another race was strictly forbidden. I know that, because of Trevor's matric dance date that, I will at least remember that black people in South Africa did not belong under a single ethnic group simply because of the color of their skin. They had each their own rich cultures and, most importantly, language, a construct which Trevor cleverly notes as a unifier but also divider.
The "Hitler" story, possibly the funniest laugh-out-loud tale of this biography, is a reminder how everyone sees the world from a very biased lens. Most of the times, we never realize because our world also shares the same lens. We should not criticize or leap to judgement, but first ask questions. So often in conversation, two people, even of similar background, can be operating on very different premises, definitions, and underlying assumptions.
Trevor Noah does a wonderful job putting a funny twist on his sometimes tragic upbringing. His writing really pulls you in and this was wonderful on audiobook because he knows how to use his voice to keep his audience's attention. The haunting scene when Abel first attacks his mother physically, to hear Trevor's voice say Patricia's name again and again, as Abel, my heart just sank deeper and deeper. I held my breath, waiting for the act to finally occur.
I enjoyed every moment of hearing him tell his story and learning much more about another country.
Noah gives us historical backgrounds, certainly, but he doesn't attempt to give a grand history of South Africa. But he told his history and, in turn, gave us glimpses into a country that I honestly know very little about. I don't think any readers are likely to forget how segregating apartheid was with the image of little Trevor chasing his fleeing white father down in a public park, screaming "daddy!" His father running away because, obviously, mingling and, especially, having children with another race was strictly forbidden. I know that, because of Trevor's matric dance date that, I will at least remember that black people in South Africa did not belong under a single ethnic group simply because of the color of their skin. They had each their own rich cultures and, most importantly, language, a construct which Trevor cleverly notes as a unifier but also divider.
The "Hitler" story, possibly the funniest laugh-out-loud tale of this biography, is a reminder how everyone sees the world from a very biased lens. Most of the times, we never realize because our world also shares the same lens. We should not criticize or leap to judgement, but first ask questions. So often in conversation, two people, even of similar background, can be operating on very different premises, definitions, and underlying assumptions.
Trevor Noah does a wonderful job putting a funny twist on his sometimes tragic upbringing. His writing really pulls you in and this was wonderful on audiobook because he knows how to use his voice to keep his audience's attention. The haunting scene when Abel first attacks his mother physically, to hear Trevor's voice say Patricia's name again and again, as Abel, my heart just sank deeper and deeper. I held my breath, waiting for the act to finally occur.
I enjoyed every moment of hearing him tell his story and learning much more about another country.