• Hardcover
• 288
• Born a Crime Stories from a South African Childhood
• Trevor Noah
• English
• 18 January 2020
• 9780385689229

Born a Crime Stories from a South African Childhood Characters Þ 108 Etion Trevor was kept mostly indoors for the earliest years of his life bound by the extreme and often absurd measures his mother took to hide him from a government that could at any moment steal him away Finally liberated by the end of South Africa’s tyrannical white rule Trevor and his mother set forth on a grand adventure living openly and freely and embracing the opportunities won by a centuries long struggle B If you re going to read this book definitely listen to the audio version Trevor Noah is one of the most effortless narrators I ve ever listened to It genuinely feels like he is sitting down with you and telling you his life story Not only that but you get to learn uite a bit about pre and post Apartheid South Africa from the perspective of someone who hypothetically shouldn t exist Noah s mother is black and his father is white and when he was born any mixed race relationships were illegal I was instantly intrigued by his story not only because of this uniue perspective but also because he is such a wonderful storytellerI do think the chronology of the book was a bit strange at times one chapter would be from his childhood and then the next would jump to his teen years and back And at the end of each chapter there was always a short snippet that completely changed directions and had pretty much nothing to do with the previous chapter maybe in the physical copy of the book that section is identifiably set apartNonetheless this was a great listening experience one that was enlightening hilarious heartbreaking frustrating and well told Would highly recommend

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Born a Crime Stories from a South African Childhood Characters Þ 108 Orn a Crime is the story of a mischievous young boy who grows into a restless young man as he struggles to find himself in a world where he was never supposed to exist It is also the story of that young man’s relationship with his fearless rebellious and fervently religious mother his teammate a woman determined to save her son from the cycle of poverty violence and abuse that would ultimately threaten her own life BlackLivesMatter I soon learned that the uickest way to bridge the race gap was through language Where do I even begin to explain how incredible this autobiography wasTrevor Noah brought this story to life but ultimately it was his mother that was the main character the MVP of this bookTrevor Noah is narrating his account on being raised in Apartheid South Africa I look at that word and cannot fathom the audacity of it It existed The issues growing up as a mixed race child and a mother who defied all societal standard and called bullshit before anyone even dared do it Colonialism Poverty Race Living under a police state Privilege Whilst reading I was aware these kind of ludicrous laws existed but it still managed to shock me all over again This was a world where interracial marriagerelationships was banned Where Trevor could not be seen with either his mother or father Where white people were put on such a pedestal his grandmother refused to discipline him because she didn t want to kill a white person as he was white passing Where animosity was purposely sowed between people so the whites could be looked at for help Yet the blacks could never dream of getting to that social status and would be denied at every turn even though the American Dream was dangled in front of them Though his world was completely different from our own Trevor Noah still managed to make it relatable His relationship with his mother was a delight to read His desperation to fit in called to others His first kiss Trying to take the most beautiful girl to prom Everything going disastrously wrong and beautifully twining that with wisdom and lessons that he learned along the way I just became enamoured with his mother though The strength she possessed was almost not human I m pretty sure it s not human Her faith played a massive part in solidifying her personality and how she viewed the world and it was incredible to see her overcome troubles that would make others crumble with humour love and Jesus Trevor Noah is honestly a gem We have his mother to thank for that I highly recommend the audiobook for this I didn t even touch the book once and it gave me hope in trying other audiobooks It was completely engaging story intimate heartbreaking and provided you a front seat view into Apartheid and what it did to the lives of others I cannot wait for the movie adaptation

Born a Crime Stories from a South African Childhood Characters Þ 108 The memoir of one man’s coming of age set during the twilight of apartheid and the tumultuous days of freedom that followed Trevor Noah’s unlikely path from apartheid South Africa to the desk of The Daily Show began with a criminal act his birth Trevor was born to a white Swiss father and a black Xhosa mother at a time when such a union was punishable by five years in prison Living proof of his parents’ indiscr This was fantasticBorn a Crime at over six months is the longest library hold I ve ever waited for Normally if I hadn t already lost interest by that point I d just break down and buy it but I m generally not a big memoir reader so I was reluctant to spend money on a book I wasn t sure would be my thing Well I ve ended up buying it anyway And my husband and I are currently laughing our way through the audio version tooI just couldn t put this book down There are many moments of comedy gold that come across even better on audio but still drew out loud laughter when I read them in print and lots of insight into what it was like growing up in South Africa under the later years of apartheid and after its collapse which I prefer reading in print so I can take my time to appreciate the gravity of the issuesTrevor Noah covers a lot of serious issues like colonialism apartheid being an outsider religion education gender roles and He talks about how his mother who comes across as the rugged heroine of his story played the system well to get her illegal colored child into better schools and neighborhoods and how this often led to him having difficulty fitting in I learned things that though perhaps not surprising were horrifying such as how police refused to file charges in cases of domestic violence because they sympathized with the husband It s a book about important issues in a country that has throughout history largely been portrayed through the eyes of white journalists and writers but it s also such a warm lovable funny book in many ways Born a Crime is the perfect blend of sociopolitical discussion and a personal tale of family friendship and first crushes It is written as a series of short essays each around a certain theme and not in chronological order but this actually makes it all easier to digest Noah s writing is so engaging that I would think just one essay until suddenly a hundred pages had gone by and I realized I might be addictedDefinitely one of the best memoirs I ve ever readBlog Facebook Twitter Instagram Youtube