⭐⭐⭐⭐ Born a Crime by Noah
| Full Title | Born a Crime: Stories From a South African Childhood |
|---|---|
| Authors | Trevor Noah |
| Year Published | 2016 |
| Date Read | July 16, 2020 |
| Rating | 4/5 stars |
What a great listen. Born a Crime focuses primarily on Noah’s childhood (with some notes from early adulthood). I had no idea that Noah had such a lively upbringing and particularly enjoyed his description of his hustle to create streams of income as a kid — first as a middleman for lunch sales, then as a music pirate, and later as a DJ / pawn shop operator. I too liked the inclusion of his first dalliances with romance, as they come off as refreshingly honest and yet are delivered with a lightheartedness that communicates understanding of the role they play in Noah’s general collection of life experiences.
The book deals with tougher subjects as well, primarily those of racism & childhood abuse. The racism Noah deals with as a “colored kid” is quite different from what we normally hear about in the US and is unique even for South Africa. Noah utilizes examples from his own life to explain what impact government policies had on the people & culture around him, often
taking the chance to highlight their clear logical inconsistency. He’ll also add in jokes/comments to make this difficult subject matter easier to talk through, which I really appreciated.
Abuse of him & his mother by the step-father Abel hurts to read, particularly because of all the time the book spends on showing the bond Noah builds with his mom. The final few minutes of the book are pretty brutal and caused a strong emotional reaction in me, rare for any book but especially an autobiography.
Would recommend reading, especially to fans of Noah.