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’ indiscretion, 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.
Born 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.
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Rating: 5 Stars
My Review: Spectacular!! 5 starts does not even cover the sheer perfection that was this memoir. This book is perfectly paced and Trevor does an excellent job of describing not only the political climate of South Africa in the 80’s - but effortlessly tying his experiences as a child through being a young adult. if it is available to you. Please couple this book with the Audio which is narrated by Trevor Noah. Perfectly emulating a mothers tone, family dynamics, and the tone of both heartbreaking experiences as well as happiness.
Review
National Bestseller
A New York Times Bestseller
Winner of the 2017 Thurber Prize for American Humour
A New York Times Top Book of 2016
A New York Times Notable Book
An Esquire Best Book
A CBC Best Book
An NPR Best Book
A Booklist Editors' Choice, 2016
"[A] compelling new memoir. . . . By turns alarming, sad and funny, [the] book provides a harrowing look, through the prism of Mr. Noah's family, at life in South Africa under apartheid and the country's lurching entry into a postapartheid era in the 1990s." —The New York Times
"[A] stirring memoir. . . . Noah proves to be a gifted storyteller, able to deftly lace his poignant tales with amusing irony." —Entertainment Weekly
"Born a Crime is an engaging, fast-paced and vivid read. . . . The book is essential reading not only because it is a personal story of survival, leavened with insight and wit, but because it does more to expose apartheid—its legacy, its pettiness, its small-minded stupidity and its damage—than any other recent history book or academic text." —The Guardian (UK)
"[A] substantial collection of staggering personal essays. . . . Incisive, funny and vivid, these true tales are anchored to his portrait of his courageous, rebellious and religious mother who defied racially restrictive laws to secure an education and a career for herself—and to have a child with a white Swiss/German even though sex between whites and blacks was illegal. . . . [Trevor Noah's] electrifying memoir sparkles with funny stories . . . and his candid and compassionate essays deepen our perception of the complexities of race, gender and class." —Booklist, starred review
"A gritty memoir . . . studded with insight and provocative social criticism . . . with flashes of brilliant storytelling and acute observations." —Kirkus Reviews
"[Noah's] story of surviving—and thriving—is mind-blowing." —Cosmopolitan
"Noah's memoir is extraordinary in its observations of South Africa in the years when apartheid crumbled. It's equally unusual in the troubling personal story it tells. Throw in Noah's sharp, droll prose style, and you have a book that feels like essential reading on every level." —The Seattle Times
"What makes Born a Crime such a soul-nourishing pleasure, even with all its darker edges and perilous turns, is reading Noah recount in brisk, warmly conversational prose how he learned to negotiate his way through the bullying and ostracism. . . . What also helped was having a mother like Patricia Nombuyiselo Noah. . . . Consider Born a Crime another such gift to her—and an enormous gift to the rest of us." —USA Today
"You'd be hard-pressed to find a comic's origin story better than the one Trevor Noah serves up in Born a Crime." —O: The Oprah Magazine
"Witty and revealing . . . Noah's story is the story of modern South Africa; though he enjoyed some privileges of the region's slow Westernization, his formative years were shaped by poverty, injustice and violence. Noah is quick with a disarming joke, and he skillfully integrates the parallel narratives via interstitial asides between chapters. . . . Perhaps the most harrowing tales are those of his abusive stepfather, which form the book's final act (and which Noah cleverly foreshadows throughout earlier chapters), but equally prominent are the laugh-out-loud yarns about going to the prom and the differences between 'White Church' and 'Black Church.'" —Publishers Weekly, starred review
"[Noah] thrives with the help of his astonishingly fearless mother. . . . Their fierce bond makes this story soar." —People
"Extraordinarily heartfelt, compulsively enriching . . . a hell of a memoir. . . . With his debut book, Mr. Noah produces a striking, evocative, constantly surprising, tremendously heartbreaking, persistently funny and absorbing true-life account, one that never fails to capture his clear-eyed conviction, echoing pathos, sharp perception and sense of humor. . . . Trevor Noah is a rich storyteller." —Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
"Humorous and heartbreaking." —Los Angeles Times
A New York Times Bestseller
Winner of the 2017 Thurber Prize for American Humour
A New York Times Top Book of 2016
A New York Times Notable Book
An Esquire Best Book
A CBC Best Book
An NPR Best Book
A Booklist Editors' Choice, 2016
"[A] compelling new memoir. . . . By turns alarming, sad and funny, [the] book provides a harrowing look, through the prism of Mr. Noah's family, at life in South Africa under apartheid and the country's lurching entry into a postapartheid era in the 1990s." —The New York Times
"[A] stirring memoir. . . . Noah proves to be a gifted storyteller, able to deftly lace his poignant tales with amusing irony." —Entertainment Weekly
"Born a Crime is an engaging, fast-paced and vivid read. . . . The book is essential reading not only because it is a personal story of survival, leavened with insight and wit, but because it does more to expose apartheid—its legacy, its pettiness, its small-minded stupidity and its damage—than any other recent history book or academic text." —The Guardian (UK)
"[A] substantial collection of staggering personal essays. . . . Incisive, funny and vivid, these true tales are anchored to his portrait of his courageous, rebellious and religious mother who defied racially restrictive laws to secure an education and a career for herself—and to have a child with a white Swiss/German even though sex between whites and blacks was illegal. . . . [Trevor Noah's] electrifying memoir sparkles with funny stories . . . and his candid and compassionate essays deepen our perception of the complexities of race, gender and class." —Booklist, starred review
"A gritty memoir . . . studded with insight and provocative social criticism . . . with flashes of brilliant storytelling and acute observations." —Kirkus Reviews
"[Noah's] story of surviving—and thriving—is mind-blowing." —Cosmopolitan
"Noah's memoir is extraordinary in its observations of South Africa in the years when apartheid crumbled. It's equally unusual in the troubling personal story it tells. Throw in Noah's sharp, droll prose style, and you have a book that feels like essential reading on every level." —The Seattle Times
"What makes Born a Crime such a soul-nourishing pleasure, even with all its darker edges and perilous turns, is reading Noah recount in brisk, warmly conversational prose how he learned to negotiate his way through the bullying and ostracism. . . . What also helped was having a mother like Patricia Nombuyiselo Noah. . . . Consider Born a Crime another such gift to her—and an enormous gift to the rest of us." —USA Today
"You'd be hard-pressed to find a comic's origin story better than the one Trevor Noah serves up in Born a Crime." —O: The Oprah Magazine
"Witty and revealing . . . Noah's story is the story of modern South Africa; though he enjoyed some privileges of the region's slow Westernization, his formative years were shaped by poverty, injustice and violence. Noah is quick with a disarming joke, and he skillfully integrates the parallel narratives via interstitial asides between chapters. . . . Perhaps the most harrowing tales are those of his abusive stepfather, which form the book's final act (and which Noah cleverly foreshadows throughout earlier chapters), but equally prominent are the laugh-out-loud yarns about going to the prom and the differences between 'White Church' and 'Black Church.'" —Publishers Weekly, starred review
"[Noah] thrives with the help of his astonishingly fearless mother. . . . Their fierce bond makes this story soar." —People
"Extraordinarily heartfelt, compulsively enriching . . . a hell of a memoir. . . . With his debut book, Mr. Noah produces a striking, evocative, constantly surprising, tremendously heartbreaking, persistently funny and absorbing true-life account, one that never fails to capture his clear-eyed conviction, echoing pathos, sharp perception and sense of humor. . . . Trevor Noah is a rich storyteller." —Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
"Humorous and heartbreaking." —Los Angeles Times
About the Author
TREVOR NOAH is the host of the Emmy and Peabody Award-winning The Daily Show. He first joined the show as a contributor in 2014 and succeeded Jon Stewart as host in 2015. While The Daily Showhas introduced Noah to an American audience, he's long been a popular comedian around the globe. Born in South Africa to a black South African mother and a white European father, Noah rose improbably to stardom with The Racist, his one-man show at the 2012 Edinburgh Fringe Festival, which enjoyed a sold-out run and became one of the most talked-about shows at the festival that year. He made his US television debut that year on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and has also appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman, becoming the first South African stand-up comedian to appear on either late-night program.
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FTC Guidelines: In accordance with FTC guidelines regarding endorsements and testimonials for bloggers, I would like my readers to know that many of the books I review are provided to me for free by the publisher or author of the book in exchange for an honest review. If am compensated for any reviews on this site I will state that post has been sponsored.
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