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A review by nerdyreferencelibrarian89
Born a Crime: Stories From a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah
5.0
*Update* After reading reviews, 90% of the negative ones mention an incident where one of Noah's friends is named Hitler, which leads to a situation in a dance with he and his friends chanting this other friend's name as he danced.
Noah makes an excellent point about why this happens, discussing how to Africans, living under Apartheid and denied quality education, their concept of Hitler was vague at best. He is not one of the terrors of their history. Many reviewers found this story unacceptably offensive,but if they stepped back and really reflected I think that highlights the hypocritical nature of this complaint. How many of us (White Westerners) can name the creators of Apartheid, the presidents of South Africa that oversaw this modern day slavery? I know I can't.
Noah acknowledges Hitler was a horrendous human being, but he also highlights how there are many "Hitlers" to other parts of the world the West never discusses, so why wouldn't that work the other way as well. Do not let a poorly informed, ignorant perspective from a grouchy reviewer prevent you from reading or listening to this incredibly insightful and funny biography. *
This book was phenomenal, I listened to it and I highly recommend listening rather then reading. The book is narrated by Trevor Noah, and since Noah speaks all these different languages you get to hear these languages spoken, which was very cool. In addition, Noah is a great performer, and brings that brilliance to this book doing voices, short pauses for comedic effect, making the book a real pleasure to listen to.
The book itself covers Noah's childhood towards the end of Apartheid and the interesting experiences he had growing up in this environment. It is not a bleak joyless story, but one that tells the harsh realities of parts of South African culture, while also celebrating the good parts.
This book is not the story of how Noah got on television, and really only briefly mentions his career as a comedian, but this is because the other aspects of his life are so interesting. The energy and curiosity he brings to his observations makes the book riveting.
This is honestly one of the best biographies I have ever read, and I cannot recommend it enough. If you haven't read or listened to it, do it, it is well worth it!
Noah makes an excellent point about why this happens, discussing how to Africans, living under Apartheid and denied quality education, their concept of Hitler was vague at best. He is not one of the terrors of their history. Many reviewers found this story unacceptably offensive,but if they stepped back and really reflected I think that highlights the hypocritical nature of this complaint. How many of us (White Westerners) can name the creators of Apartheid, the presidents of South Africa that oversaw this modern day slavery? I know I can't.
Noah acknowledges Hitler was a horrendous human being, but he also highlights how there are many "Hitlers" to other parts of the world the West never discusses, so why wouldn't that work the other way as well. Do not let a poorly informed, ignorant perspective from a grouchy reviewer prevent you from reading or listening to this incredibly insightful and funny biography. *
This book was phenomenal, I listened to it and I highly recommend listening rather then reading. The book is narrated by Trevor Noah, and since Noah speaks all these different languages you get to hear these languages spoken, which was very cool. In addition, Noah is a great performer, and brings that brilliance to this book doing voices, short pauses for comedic effect, making the book a real pleasure to listen to.
The book itself covers Noah's childhood towards the end of Apartheid and the interesting experiences he had growing up in this environment. It is not a bleak joyless story, but one that tells the harsh realities of parts of South African culture, while also celebrating the good parts.
This book is not the story of how Noah got on television, and really only briefly mentions his career as a comedian, but this is because the other aspects of his life are so interesting. The energy and curiosity he brings to his observations makes the book riveting.
This is honestly one of the best biographies I have ever read, and I cannot recommend it enough. If you haven't read or listened to it, do it, it is well worth it!