#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • More than one million copies sold! A “brilliant” (Lupita Nyong’o, Time), “poignant” (Entertainment Weekly), “soul-nourishing” (USA Today) memoir about coming of age during the twilight of apartheid “Noah’s childhood stories are told with all the hilarity and intellect that characterizes his comedy, while illuminating a dark and brutal period in South Africa’s … illuminating a dark and brutal period in South Africa’s history that must never be forgotten.”—Esquire
Winner of the Thurber Prize for American Humor and an NAACP Image Award • Named one of the best books of the year by The New York Time, USA Today, San Francisco Chronicle, NPR, Esquire, Newsday, and Booklist
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.
more
Funny, sad, shocking and inspirational!
Noah has an extremely readable style. While he’s a comedian, this book is frequently poignant rather than laugh-out-loud funny, though a few of his signature jokes are in there–like how, during apartheid, he couldn’t walk with his mother when police were around because mixed-race relationships were illegal, and when cops would appear she would drop him like a bag of weed so that they wouldn’t be harassed. Each chapter is prefaced by a shorter section that says something about apartheid and how it affected and still affects the people in South Africa. He shows both how far South Africa has come, and how far it still has to go, in a variety of ways–from racial equality (not that the United States is exactly a beacon of excellence in this area) to things such as basic sanitation. But at the same time, he includes touching stories of his relationship with his mother (this book was infinitely better than Maya Angelou’s Mom & Me & Mom in that regard) and of finding himself. It’s a great book, an easy read but one that packs a punch at the same time in a lot of areas, and I highly recommend it.
I was way late to the game with this book, but I’m so glad I finally caught up. One of my very favorite books in forever. It’s such a page turner and I learned so much. I’ve been giving it as a gift to my grown kids and 13 year old grandson.
WOW, that ending!
I’ve always adored Trevor Noah. I love him even harder after reading this autobiography. There were lots of laughs, several OH SHIT moments, and he had me in tears, hardcore BAWLING at the end. I give huge props to Trevor for his wit and charm, but his mom deserves a lot of credit too. I vote her MVP of Trevor’s story. What a strong woman she must be.
Not only was the story good, but I also learned a TON about South Africa that I didn’t know—everything from food to customs to what daily life is like shone through. I was amazed by all the languages too, and the fact that Noah speaks so many is crazy-cool. I loved hearing those languages and Trevor’s follow-up translations.
If you’re thinking about reading BORN A CRIME, I highly recommend grabbing the Audible version. Noah narrates the story himself, and he brings so much life and vibrancy to it. I thoroughly enjoyed this one!
This book was such a wonderful read but also disturbing. Though Trevor Noah had a difficult life growing up a mixed-race child under apartheid, one never gets a sense of bitterness. Which makes the stories he tells all the more poignant and heart-rending. However, it is an amazing insight into a life and a family in difficult times. Highly recommended.
Compulsively readable and surprisingly poignant. I came for the humor but appreciated the depth afforded by Noah’s observations of life in South Africa, both before and after Apartheid. Easily one of the most entertaining books I’ve read this year. Would love to be best friends with his mom. (Note: Gobs of swearing if that’s something that bothers you.)
I listened to the audiobook, which is narrated by Trevor Noah himself. When it ended, I wanted to go to the beginning and play it again. I can’t recommend this highly enough — a delightful, funny, touching, humble, occasionally sad, and, more than anything else, heartwarming jaunt through a childhood in South Africa and the lessons that helped create one of my favorite famous voices in today’s zeitgeist.
I recommended it to my book club, and they all agreed it was a very revealing look into apartheid. It’s extremely readable and draws you into Noah’s life growing up.
This is a fast read (4-6 hours), and I’m not a fast reader. Noah reveals lots of tidbits about growing up poor in post-apartheid South Africa, as a “colored” (mixed race) boy. While the subject matter is heavy, it’s not written that way. There’s no holier-than-thou here, as Noah invites you to laugh at the ridiculous nature of legalized racism and subjugation. He tells hilarious stories of growing up hustling, breaking laws, lighting things on fire, with the violence and racism of South Africa as a backdrop. I really enjoyed this read.
Wow!! Trevor Noah is my new hero. While I always appreciated his wit and talent, I now appreciate his drive to rise out of the horrible circumstances in which he was born. In apartheid South Africa, because he is bi-racial, his mere existence was a crime, and so his early life was a constant subterfuge of passing for something other than his true identity. To have to live with that on top of abject poverty, is more than I know I would be capable.
If you want to appreciate your life, regardless of your circumstances, read this book and then look around at all that you have. Trust me, Trevor Noah will be your new hero too.
I LoOOOOVe this Book. I read it twice because I found a lot of jewels that I could relate to as a mother raising sons. Noah’s relationship with his mother is funny, entertaining and at times heartbreaking. Kudos for such a lovely tribute for all her handwork. I highly recommend it.
It seemed odd listening to the memoir of someone so young, but after hearing what Trevor Noah had to say I concluded that he’s lived a more colourful and hazardous life than many people twice his age.
Trevor Noah is fortunate to be alive to tell his story. He talks of growing up in South Africa as a “coloured” child (a child of mixed race) during Apartheid and its aftermath, with a mother who was determined to defy the government that sought to oppress her. He was somewhat of a menace and juvenile delinquent during the impressionable years, and narrowly escaped his abusive step-father who almost killed his family.
Trevor spoke a lot about his mother, Patricia. She is an incredible woman, strong and determined, who surmounted many formidable obstacles including poverty, racism and abuse, and yet still managed to teach Trevor many valuable lessons
that no doubt shaped him into the highly intelligent and talented individual he is today. She didn’t stifle his exposure to grander things in life, but rather she expanded his world by teaching him and showing him that he could achieve a better life than she’d had.
I was impressed to learn that Trevor Noah speaks several African languages, including Afrikaans. Knowing English, as well as these other languages was of great benefit to him in many ways in South Africa. If you want to know how, you’ll have to listen for yourself.
Trevor’s transparency in sharing details about so many aspects of his life endeared me to his story. I see where he gets some of the material for his comedy shows.
I didn’t know much, if anything, about Trevor Noah before reading this book, but after having listened to him tell his story I have developed a deep respect for him. He’s overcome many challenges and has prevailed, and considering all he’s been through, that is truly amazing.
I thought the book was EXCELLENT!!
WARNING: This book contains profanity.
this book is both entertaining and written in such a way to better understand what life was like during Apartheid and after it was over in South Africa. And helps inveil some of the issues the United States is facing in the 21st Century.
This is such a wonderful book that truly displays Trevor Noah’s many talents. I went into the book knowing very little about S. Africa’s history of apartheid but came away both enlightened and interested in learning more. Trevor’s writing is engaging and intimate, and he somehow manages to educate without being didactic. He is even able to convey harrowing experiences while making you laugh (or cry) at the same time. This is a story about history, about a gifted and curious young man’s coming of age, and about the struggles and strengths of an extraordinary woman trying to raise her biracial son during and post-apartheid. This book is so much rolled into one and was an absolute delight to read; I loved every minute of it and can’t wait for my son to read it once he is a little older (due to some mature (though not inappropriate) content). I was in a major reading slump for close to a year and this was the book that brought me out of it.
To understand the way Trevor Noah grew up in South Africa was enlightening. I realized I didn’t understand apartheid as much as I thought I did and what it did to the people that lived and are still living with it. All that we went through told in a comic fashion that helped digest it easier.
I’ve been meaning to read Trevor Noah’s memoir for a while now, and finally sat down with it on a Saturday. I read it in three or four hours flat. Born in South Africa just before apartheid finally fell apart, Noah has a unique lens when examining racism in not just the U.S. but all over the world. I learned so much from him while becoming immersed in his childhood and now admire him even more, but I fell in love with his badass mama, Patricia. Noah’s book is a love letter to what’s really important in life: family, knowledge, and perseverance.
This is a beautiful book about Noah’s experience growing up in South African as a “mixed” child. It was funny but also touching.
I have been a fan of Trevor Noah for a while now but I rarely read non-fiction (in fact, I mostly listen to it) so I got the book but hadn’t got around to listening… Thank god for spring cleaning! I put this on and was immediately fascinated. It helps it’s narrated by the author, who’s got a charm that would be easy to replicate even by an expert narrator reading his words, but the content alone should suffice to keep anyone glued to their chair. What interested me most was the unique perspective Noah has on life thanks to his upbringing (in a Black community) as a colored person and his insights about the powerful forces at work shaping identity and culture. But you can also read for the funny and not so funny anecdotes :p
This book was terrific. I enjoyed Trevor Noah’s comedy before I read it but, now I admire him as a person after reading his story. This young man overcame a ridiculous governmental decree that criminalised him by virtue of his birth, to being an accomplished newsreader on a national network in the US.
Great read, highly recommended.
I loved Born a Crime. It was an emotional read about a young boy growing up and observing life from his perspective as a mixed race child. I found myself laughing out loud at times and then worrying about what would happen next. Trevor is a keen observer of how people identify themselves and has highlighted the power of empathy and language to make connections. I also appreciated seeing apartheid through his eyes. Overall a wonderful story and I was sad when it ended. I look forward to reading more from Trevor.