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A review by norcalchris
Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah
dark
emotional
informative
sad
medium-paced
3.75
Well written and performed (audiobook). Trevor Noah has a really surprising and rough story that I had no awareness of. He explained a lot about apartheid and South African cultures; it was very informative.
Some of the book got a little repetitive and the organization of the last third felt odd. Rather than continuing chronologically like the rest of the book had, the last part jumped around in time. The ending also felt quite abrupt.
The first half of this memoir was incredibly strong, but my interest dipped over time which affected my rating. My interest dipped due to the inclusion and lengthy amount of time dedicated to stories where it wasn’t clear why those moments had impacted him or his life (the different dates he had in his adolescence, and the mishaps of his dance group in particular). I would’ve enjoyed exploration of the aftermath or post-reflection of these stories, but it was absent.
I also would’ve enjoyed more continuity of story into his current life. He mentioned university and starting to be a comedian off hand, but without explanation as to how that came about.
Overall, a very eye opening memoir and I really value the knowledge it imparted.
Some of the book got a little repetitive and the organization of the last third felt odd. Rather than continuing chronologically like the rest of the book had, the last part jumped around in time. The ending also felt quite abrupt.
The first half of this memoir was incredibly strong, but my interest dipped over time which affected my rating. My interest dipped due to the inclusion and lengthy amount of time dedicated to stories where it wasn’t clear why those moments had impacted him or his life (the different dates he had in his adolescence, and the mishaps of his dance group in particular). I would’ve enjoyed exploration of the aftermath or post-reflection of these stories, but it was absent.
I also would’ve enjoyed more continuity of story into his current life. He mentioned university and starting to be a comedian off hand, but without explanation as to how that came about.
Overall, a very eye opening memoir and I really value the knowledge it imparted.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Domestic abuse, and Animal cruelty
Moderate: Racism and Rape