#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.
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My favorite book of 2018. Well worth listening to the audiobook. Noah narrates it himself, and he’s a delight to listen to. He’s a master at accents.
I enjoyed every minute of this book. I respect Trevor Noah for what he went through, and how he overcame all obstacles with the love and strength of his mom.
Whether you like the Daily Show or not, this book is an important one to read. Having a first-hand recent account of an important period in history (apartheid) is a rare gem, and the fact that Trevor writes with such wit makes it an enjoyable and easy read. The content is challenging and makes you think, but the delivery is easy and funny. This book has nothing to do with American politics, so if you disagree with his liberal tendencies, I promise they won’t show up in the book. I think everyone should read this book!
Disclaimer: There is some language in it, just so you’re aware!
An entertaining memoir of a very smart and successful person who had to overcome not only his personal challenges but also those of a very complex society he was born into.
This book is amazing. Everyone should read it.
Wow! Trevor Noah’s story is fascinating. Born a Crime was different than what I expected, much better actually. I’ll be honest and say that I didn’t know much about South Africa and apartheid before this book. I listened to the audiobook, narrated by @trevornoah himself, and it was like listening to him personally tell me the story of his upbringing. It was heart-wrenching, educational, and of course humorous. He does a fantastic job of changing the voices and accents as necessary. He speaks multiple languages that I know I would not have pronounced correctly. I highly recommend the audible version.
The book does not flow in chronological order. He sometimes goes back to when he was a young child, living in a different place. However, he connects one story to another so that the reader can better understand the circumstances, the environment, and the people in a way that wouldn’t be as effective if he had simply told his childhood story in order.
Trevor never writes about his rise to fame or even really about his career as a comedian. The book is about his childhood, his family, most importantly his mother, and the injustice of apartheid. Although there are some tragic and heartbreaking stories, there are also hilarious moments. Trevor uses anecdotes in a way that you can vividly picture his adventures, laugh at his mischiefs, feel compassion for his humiliation, and become angry at the injustices experienced by not only him, but also his beloved country.
Throughout his story, it is evident how much he loves his mother, Patricia, and this book is really a tribute to her. I finished the book feeling proud of him for the success he has achieved despite the situation he was born into and really wishing I could sit and chat with his fearless mother.
It’s not easy to combine humor with tragedy, but Noah Trevor does it with aplomb. His experiences reveal ordeals that would keep most people in therapy, but he glosses over them with a droll, protective veneer.
A magnificent account of an intriguing and sometimes disturbing early life in pre- and post-apartheid South Africa, brilliantly narrated by the author, Trevor Noah, himself. The accents alone make his narration thoroughly entertaining. Amazing that a man with such a troubling childhood could grow up, not only to see the lighter side of life, but to make audiences laugh all over the world.
If you haven’t read this book then I’m just going to tell you this now, it’s not what you think it is, it’s so much better. You want a comedy? Check. You want a biography? Check. You want history? Check. You want a tragedy? Check. Born A Crime has all of these components but mixed in so beautifully it keeps you reading page after page.
Familiar with Trevor Noah? Great, you’ll love the book! Have no clue who Trevor Noah is? That’s fine, you’ll still love this book, guaranteed.
a interesting life Trevor is a funny guy I learned a lot about life in Africa I find it hard to believe he was not popular as a young man. I loved story about the liquor candy at the mall
Funny, poignant, and heart-breaking by turns, Trevor Noah’s memoir “Born a Crime” is an enlightening journey into coming of age in South Africa. The fabric of his memories include the towering strength of his mother, the insanity of Apartheid, and being a downright naughty child.
By means of full disclosure, I have to say that I am a big Trevor Noah fan. I love the Daily Show, and I laugh myself silly watching Trevor Noah’s comedy bits. Great stuff. Having said that, this memoir is cut from a different cloth. Funny, yes, but it is also powerful and deeply moving.
An added benefit of this memoir is an inside view of what Apartheid was, and how it impacted the lives of those living under those heinous government-imposed racial barriers. We are living in a time when, tragically, racial divides seem to be growing. “Born a Crime” serves as a milepost, and a reminder, of what racial injustice can to to a people, a family, and a childhood.
“Born a Crime” is well-written, funny, and poignant. What else can you ask of a memoir? Highly recommended
A wonderful, well written autobiography I just wish had gone further in Noah’s life.
It was educational as well as funny. Trevor takes to the world he grew up in with humor although gritty. I feel there should be a Part 2 to continue the story.
Want to give it to everyone I know!
This book was not what I expected but that is good. A bit too much profanity though.
I loved this book and would highly recommend it, especially the audio version. Noah is remarkably gifted with accents and his narration significantly enhanced my enjoyment. Both witty and profound, he portrays his youth, during South Africa’s apartheid era, in a way that broadens our understanding of this troubling time and its effect on real people. While at times, his mother may seem somewhat abusive, we learn the reasons for everything she does and how that influenced the man Trevor has become.
Amazingly witty through joy and fear. A gift of strength and inspiration. Noah is smart and dives into historical socioeconomic dynamics of poverty and social controls under apartheid, adding memories of his childhood to bring in warmth, love and joy, making no excuses for the oppressors. A story of power and love.
Trevor Noah tells his story in an honest and compelling way. This HAS to be memoir/non-fiction because it is too crazy to be believed were it fiction. I have come to believe from watching his TV show that he is insightful, intelligent, and funny and that he can boil down an event and spit it out in truth and comedy. He does that here with his own life.
Some authors are bad audio book readers of their own work. Not true here. Listen to the audio version if you can.
Remarkable story of human triumph!
I loved this book. I found myself laughing out loud at times. Then it could dad. Loved this book and would highly recommend it.