Trevor Noah - Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood

 

Trevor Noah - Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood 

 5 ⭐

Genre: Autobiography, Biography, Humour, True Story, Race.

Pages: 305

Format:  Hardback

Favourite Quote: 'You separate people into groups and make them hate one another so you can run them all' (Page 5).

Book Blurb: 

One of the comedy world's brightest new voices, Trevor Noah is a light-footed but sharp-minded observer of the absurdities of politics, race and identity, sharing jokes and insights drawn from the wealth of experience acquired in his relatively young life. A collection of eighteen personal stories, Born a Crime tells the story of a mischievous young boy growing into a restless young man as he struggles to find his place in a world where he was never supposed to exist. Born a Crime is equally the story of that young man's fearless, rebellious and fervently religious mother - a woman determined to save her son from the cycle of poverty, violence and abuse that ultimately threatens her own life.

My Review: 

This is my first 5-star book of 2022 and honestly, I was completely in love with this book. It was so well written, I just couldn't put it down and will be definitely re-reading it in a near future. 

What I loved the most is that Trevor's childhood experiences, good or bad, were mixed together with snippets of the history of South Africa. It really helped me, someone, who is not familiar with South African history, to be able to understand his story and his experiences. 

I loved how this book wasn't a sugar-coated version of his childhood. The way he wrote it was really personal and all the way through the book, one minute I was crying and the next I was laughing. It was a definite emotional rollercoaster kind of book...

I knew Trevor Noah from his stand-up shows and always found him a funny and relatable comedian. His humour is not only funny but also teaches us a lot about race, languages, cultures, etc. This book, however, made me truly admire and respect him for always seeing the bright side and positivity even in the bleakest and hardest times.  

Overall: It is a MUST READ! For me, it covered some very serious topics, that I personally can relate to, including racism and wanting to be accepted and to belong somewhere. This book also gave me an in-depth view of how it was like to grow up in South Africa as a coloured person and made me realise that sometimes we take things in life for granted. This book showed the struggles, funny moments, determination of Trevor Noah, which is truly inspirational and admirable. Also, what I also admired is his love for his mum, especially for raising him to reach opportunities from a very young age.