#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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Witty. The type of humor that only some would get and few would enjoy
Great book, great audio.
This is the true account by comedian Trevor Noah of his upbringing in South Africa. It highlights the nonsensical and cruel nature of apartheid system that was in place when he grew up as the son of a white father and a black mother.
this book is amazingly entertaining and funny
What an amazing biography. I knew a bit about Apartheid, but hearing a first hand account was amazing. Trevor Noah manages to bring humor to a horrible situation in a way that makes this a surprisingly fun read.
Trevor Noah does a splendid job narrating his life story. He brings South Africa to life through his personal experiences. Cannot say enough. Sometimes serious, sometimes funny, always informative. Highly recommend.
Great audiobook. Trevor did the narrating which was fantastic, so you got the humor, the accents, and his funny women voices that made me laugh. It was not only entertaining, but also gave me perspective on what it was like growing up colored (half black, half white) in South Africa. It touches a little on white privilege but he doesn’t harp on it. Rather he just shares his stories about his childhood and tells them with humor, not bitterness.
I am not a fan of Trevor Noah and The Daily Show. However, I heard so much about this book, I thought I would give it a whirl. I have to give credit for credit is due. It is a good book. Especially in these times of racial justice, inequality and instability, this book is a great accompaniment for a reader to seek to understand a fraction of what is happening. Told through the viewpoint of someone born a crime and lived in a world where you are neither black or white, but colored in a government built on racism. This serves as the backdrop to anecdotes in his life. If you come across it, then give it a read.
You never know what someone’s had to go through until you read about their life. Trevor Noah recounts his struggles growing up in a township in South Africa under apartheid. Although written in the cheerful, casual style of his TV show, you’ll find it a real eye-opener
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Easily five stars! I have trouble with audio books but this one is read by Trevor Noah himself and it is fantastic. He tells his story with such emotion and humor. There were so many times I was laughing so hard my stomach hurt and other times I was crying for what he and his mother went through. I am glad I saw this on Bookstagram and picked it up. This is one I’ll be thinking of for a while and one I will definitely recommend.
Superb! I laughed and I cried, and I didn’t want it to end.
This is an illuminating memoir offering an important insight into the life of someone growing up in the townships of South Africa in the post-Apartheid era. The hopes for freedom and better opportunities which never came to fruition are laid out before the reader. Noah made it out, but few people do, and sadly the situation remains the same for so many.
Today is June 19, 2020 and I’ve listened to this book over the last few days.
While Trevor Noah wrote this book about post apartheid South Africa, it rings true to how today looks in the USA.
His mother… WOW. I’m not sure who I have a bigger crush on, Trevor or his mom.
I have added this book to my TBR list so I can read and highlight and absorb the beautiful lessons he wrote.
I absolutely recommend this book to EVERYONE.
An amazing story, it’s absolutely wild the injustices South Africa faced not too long ago, and what that meant for people like Trevor Noah. He takes stories that are heart wrenching and unbelievable and brings his sense of humor and story telling them. I cannot recommend this book enough!
I loved this book. I listened to it on Audible, read by the author. I think that’s the only way to get a full experience of this book. Hearing it in Trevor’s voice really makes it come alive. I would love a sequel about his life since then.
A poignant and humorous look at the end of apartheid and parenthood. A definite must read.
Trevor Noah managed to incorporate humor, drama, and history all in the same book. One of the best memoirs I’ve ever read.
Absolutely incredible. Listen to the audiobook for the full experience.
I never normally like reading books/memoirs written by celebrities, but Trevor Noah’s “Born A Crime” is surely a must read.
In Jamaica, Africa is referred to as the “mother land” mostly by the Rastafarians; but I am sure they wouldn’t want to be there during apartheid and immediately after.
Trevor Noah highlighted the seriousness of apartheid, being an outsider in one’s own country of birth, the various types of religions he was exposed to, the constant fight his mother went through in order for him to have good quality education and a good neighbourhood to live, the women and men in his life, gender roles and more.
One of the most horrific points for me however, was gender roles. I was jolted more than once when incidences involving the police were mentioned, such as how police refused to take a statement and allow his mother to file charges in cases of domestic abuse because it was being done by her husband. It ended up almost causing her life.
With him being a comedian, Trevor managed to let the world into his life and his upbringing in “jovial” way that softens the way the message is received and at the same time, showed hardship, self-discovery, determination and overcoming.
I love his mother. What a strong-willed woman of God? She is a go getter and a risk taker. She knows what she wants for herself and her family and she works towards achieving it no matter the consequences are.
Trevor could not turn out any other way than he has with a mother like her.
The book is also funny and captivating. I was hooked from the start. I laughed a lot and in the end, I cried a little
Great read
Funny, compelling story.