Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood
1 journaler for this copy...
Picked up at the NCIBA trade show.
PAPERBACK ARC.
Started reading day before yesterday.
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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.
The stories collected here are by turns hilarious, dramatic, and deeply affecting. Whether subsisting on caterpillars for dinner during hard times, being thrown from a moving car during an attempted kidnapping, or just trying to survive the life-and-death pitfalls of dating in high school, Trevor illuminates his curious world with an incisive wit and unflinching honesty. His stories weave together to form a moving and searingly funny portrait of a boy making his way through a damaged world in a dangerous time, armed only with a keen sense of humor and a mother’s unconventional, unconditional love.
PAPERBACK ARC.
Started reading day before yesterday.
--
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.
The stories collected here are by turns hilarious, dramatic, and deeply affecting. Whether subsisting on caterpillars for dinner during hard times, being thrown from a moving car during an attempted kidnapping, or just trying to survive the life-and-death pitfalls of dating in high school, Trevor illuminates his curious world with an incisive wit and unflinching honesty. His stories weave together to form a moving and searingly funny portrait of a boy making his way through a damaged world in a dangerous time, armed only with a keen sense of humor and a mother’s unconventional, unconditional love.
Finished last night.
I'm a fan of Trevor Noah and I've really enjoyed what he's done on The Daily Show, but before I read this book I didn't know much about him other than he's a funny guy from South Africa.
Wow. What a wild ride. As a child of mixed parents, I can't imagine growing up in a country where my very existence is illegal, where my parents are always pretending their relationship is something else. Throughout the book, Noah weaves in passages about the history and legacy of colonialism in Africa, and I find the parallels between my own country's history just as interesting as the clear differences in how the country was shaped.
I was also occasionally reminded of just how woefully ignorant I am of life in Africa. There's an section where Noah talks about how he made extra money burning CDs for his classmates in the late 1990s, and this made me laugh so hard because I remember doing the same thing with illegally downloaded songs at the same time. (Thanks Napster! Although to be honest, I never used Napster, but I definitely tracked down music for dubious sources.) I was also surprised that Noah had access to the technology to make his CDs, but of course why wouldn't he? Technology is global, but I still tend to think of Africa - even major cities - as backwards and decades behind the United States. That's such an embarrassing gap of knowledge.
Moving on...
The stories about Noah's family were great. He had so many hilarious interactions with his grandmother and his extended family, but what I really appreciated is the strong relationship he has with his mother. His love for her shines throughout the narrative and you can really see how she helped shape the man he is today.
When I see a celebrity memoir, it's tempting to dismiss them, especially when it's written by someone so young. (If I calculate correctly, Noah would have been in his late twenties or very early thirties when writing the book.) But Noah has a genuinely engaging story that is so important and interesting, and he tells it so well. It's one of my favorite books of the year and probably one of my top memoirs of all time.
I'm a fan of Trevor Noah and I've really enjoyed what he's done on The Daily Show, but before I read this book I didn't know much about him other than he's a funny guy from South Africa.
Wow. What a wild ride. As a child of mixed parents, I can't imagine growing up in a country where my very existence is illegal, where my parents are always pretending their relationship is something else. Throughout the book, Noah weaves in passages about the history and legacy of colonialism in Africa, and I find the parallels between my own country's history just as interesting as the clear differences in how the country was shaped.
I was also occasionally reminded of just how woefully ignorant I am of life in Africa. There's an section where Noah talks about how he made extra money burning CDs for his classmates in the late 1990s, and this made me laugh so hard because I remember doing the same thing with illegally downloaded songs at the same time. (Thanks Napster! Although to be honest, I never used Napster, but I definitely tracked down music for dubious sources.) I was also surprised that Noah had access to the technology to make his CDs, but of course why wouldn't he? Technology is global, but I still tend to think of Africa - even major cities - as backwards and decades behind the United States. That's such an embarrassing gap of knowledge.
Moving on...
The stories about Noah's family were great. He had so many hilarious interactions with his grandmother and his extended family, but what I really appreciated is the strong relationship he has with his mother. His love for her shines throughout the narrative and you can really see how she helped shape the man he is today.
When I see a celebrity memoir, it's tempting to dismiss them, especially when it's written by someone so young. (If I calculate correctly, Noah would have been in his late twenties or very early thirties when writing the book.) But Noah has a genuinely engaging story that is so important and interesting, and he tells it so well. It's one of my favorite books of the year and probably one of my top memoirs of all time.
