#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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gives a small glimpse into life in the townships and into the life of a ‘coloured’ person in south africa.
Trevor Noah is so funny! He has gone through so much and is so candid. It’ll make you laugh and cry. Now I realize my life could be so much harder. Trevor never gave up and look where he’s at now, inspirational.
This is s very funny book. I’m glad Noah Trevor made it out of the crazy funny neighborhood and has a show that helps us laugh.
I listened to this audio book, and was amazed at Trevor’s life story.
This is an amazing book. Candid, enlightening, thought provoking, horrible, and wonderful. Thank you, Trevor Noah.
Trevor Noah really described his family’s personal struggles, trials, highs and lows of life in South Africa. He gives an insight to how Apartheid really worked.
Eye-opening
Very insightful..apartheid was a a way of life. Could not have been easy for
a child growing up with a Swiss-German father and a Black mother. took alot of courage.
This book was fascinating to me. I do not know who Trevor Noah is and read this book for a bookclub. I enjoyed reading about life and culture from his perspective growing up in South Africa. I also enjoyejis humor and storytelling. But his storytelling on race, culture and economic diversity have left me in deep thought since finishing the book.
Trevor Noah is a prime example that how you grow up is no excuse. He shows that you can be whatever you want to be. He is living the American Dream after growing up in Africa during Apartheid.
I couldn’t help but laugh at his childhood antics. I love that nothing crushed his personality, his ability to make fun of life. Him and his mother are an amazing pair. Their life was rich in love and experience.
“We had a very Tom and Jerry relationship, me and my mom. She was the strict disciplinarian, I was naughty as shit.”
His mom, Gotta love her. They laughed in the face of death. His mother is an amazing woman. Strong, stubborn, confident, determined. I love how she ‘worked the system and if you read these essays you will wonder if you could do the same.
I laughed with them, I was angry for them and I deeply respect their ability to rise above the horror they lived in.
You don’t want to miss these fabulous essays.
See more at http://www.fundinmental.com
A heartfelt reflection on the personal life trip of Mr Noah through a funny discourse of human events.
Why did it have to end?! This is one of the best reads I’ve ever had. Trevor Noah’s ability to weave the story of his life into stunning segments full of lessons learned was exceptional.
An utterly unflinching glimpse into childhood in Apartheid South Africa, by a man who can see the humor in the tragedy, and find the love letter to his mother in the memories of his young life.
By far, the best book I’ve ever read. I cannot believe the stories in this book, and I can’t believe what Trevor and his family went through. To see how far he has come is truly inspirational.
A highly informative memoir about growing up as a mixed-race child in apartheid South Africa, told with great humor and self-awareness.
Audiobook read by Trevor Noah
This was a fascinating look into the life of comedian Trevor Noah. His story would have me laughing one minute and crying the next. I could not stop listening and finished in no time at all. I very much enjoyed learning about Trevor Noah’s life in South Africa as well as about South Africa itself.
Noah relates his early life, as it was a crime to be born of mixed parents, in South Africa under separatism. An interesting, informative story, yet somewhat brutal portrayal of life under miserable government regulations.
This book was a recommendation for employees by our employer. It’s not a genre I generally read, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. I bought the book and audio version and heating Trevor Noah narrate his story added so much more for me.
It was eye-opening to say the least. I truly had no idea the how life in South Africa was. The classification of black people, colored people and white people and how segregated they were from each other. The homes they lived in. The life they lived growing up and not knowing they could aspire to anything else. That it literally was a crime to have a relationship between black and white people, much less have a child together. His story of being a child in the times of apartheid left me stunned and sad. The wrongness of it all.
There were humorous parts that had me laughing aloud. But there were many more that had my jaw dropping and even gasping at times.
Trevor Noah’s mother is a beautiful free spirit with a faith that runs deep. Trevor, himself, was much like his mother. And his love for his mother unfailing. The ending could not have been a more perfect conclusion to his book.
I strongly recommend this book to everyone!
This is a powerful book.
Loved it! It made me laugh a lot and it also made me cry. Noah’s narration of the book made it even more personal. I think the best format for this one is audiobook.