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Born a Crime: Stories From a South African Childhood

Trevor Noah

Start date: March 1, 2017

Finish date: March 31, 2017

Discussion: Monthly Group Reads

Why we're reading this: March's topic/theme is ethnicity/race. Born a Crime by Trevor Noah …more
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What Members Thought

Jan 16, 2017 Cathie rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2016-releases, aamp, 2017-reads, favorites, autobiography, 2017-favourites, africa-south, readers-tops

Insightful, tragic, funny and uplifting!

I listened to the audio version as I read along with my copy of the hardcover version; I have never "double" experienced a book in this way before, and while slower than what I would normally read at, it was a complete immersive experience in a story of high quality.

This is the story of Trevor Noah growing up in South Africa as a product of a black mother and a white father, in a time when it was illegal to have a child born of these two mixed races. This Insightful, tragic, funny and uplifting!

I listened to the audio version as I read along with my copy of the hardcover version; I have never "double" experienced a book in this way before, and while slower than what I would normally read at, it was a complete immersive experience in a story of high quality.

This is the story of Trevor Noah growing up in South Africa as a product of a black mother and a white father, in a time when it was illegal to have a child born of these two mixed races. This is not the story of how he rose to stardom, got the job as host of the Daily Show, or even of how he started out working as a comedian. Other than a line or two in passing, there is no mention of his career. This is the story of a boy growing up in Apartheid South Africa and the life and social readjustments when Apartheid ended.

Trevor Noah knows how to tell a story, but more importantly he sifted through his history and found his voice to tell the best possible story of his life. He does not glamorize or hide his scars or his sins or the way the world is. He offers meaningful insight into Apartheid in South Africa, class divisions, race divisions and social divisions. He tells it like he experienced it.

He takes on the issues of domestic violence, of trying to find his way in a world that he was always an outsider in, and of his Mother's fierce love and determination that injustice and wrong can be overcome if you don't pay homage to the rules that divide us. He addresses crime and criminality and what it's like to grow up within a South African Hood environment. He talks about the things that keep you trapped and how movement out, into something better, is frayed with pressures to keep people locked in. This book has an eerily chilling truth vibe to it that isn't just aimed at pointing out the flaws of one country but ring true throughout the rest of the world, whenever we try to separate others from ourselves or put people into boxes / places that we ourselves haven't lived in.

Trevor Noah speaks 5 different languages and listening to the Audio of this book helped with the passages written in different languages. He also does voice characterizations very well.

This is a powerful story told by a funny guy who lays his truth on the line. One of the best autobiographies I have ever read. ...more

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Mar 13, 2022 Kate rated it really liked it

This is Trevor Noah’s memoir about growing up as the child of a black mother and white father during the apartheid in South Africa. He tells some horrific stories, but is able to entwine humour throughout.

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Mar 04, 2017 Raven (Fatima) rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites

Wow, I have a feeling that this will be one of my favourite books of 2017 (or ever). It was brilliant. I’ve been a fan of Trevor Noah for a while now, even before he became the host of The Daily Show. I found his stand-up comedy videos on YouTube a few years ago and I thought he was intelligent and hilarious. But I would have never guessed that he had lived such a hard life. I knew about Apartheid but I didn’t, couldn’t, have known how unimaginably difficult and impossible it was to live under. Wow, I have a feeling that this will be one of my favourite books of 2017 (or ever). It was brilliant. I’ve been a fan of Trevor Noah for a while now, even before he became the host of The Daily Show. I found his stand-up comedy videos on YouTube a few years ago and I thought he was intelligent and hilarious. But I would have never guessed that he had lived such a hard life. I knew about Apartheid but I didn’t, couldn’t, have known how unimaginably difficult and impossible it was to live under. Or that Trevor Noah was literally born a crime. This book taught me so much about South Africa in the time during and right after Apartheid. Such an incredibly unjust and inhumane system.

But the reason I love the book so much is due to Trevor’s voice and storytelling. The book is so well-written, deeply personal, and funny. He writes about his childhood, the trouble he would get into, his high school love life (or lack thereof), his time as a hustler and so much more. Trevor lived a rich, full life and he’s only in his early 30’s. He’s a survivor because he endured so much – racism, abuse, and isolation. There were scenes in this book that broke my heart. And yet I still laughed, at times, because Trevor is a genius, and he can find humour in even the most heart-breaking circumstances. And some parts of the book were just plain funny like the time Trevor realized he and his “girlfriend” didn’t speak the same language or the passages with his friend, Hitler.

The setting and the characters leapt off the page. I felt like I was transported to South Africa – if I ever visit, I know I will feel like I’ve been there before. And the people in his life- they were so well-drawn and three-dimensional.

Trevor’s mom is a strong and inspiring woman. The wisdom she imparted to Trevor throughout the book will stay with me. And so will Trevor’s incredible insights. I feel like I’m a better person after reading this book – like I understand myself and the world a bit more. I have so much more respect and admiration for Trevor now. He’s a remarkable person and so is his mom.

I recommend this book to anyone who wants to laugh and learn a bit more about the world.

My favourite passages:

1. Abel wanted a traditional marriage with a traditional wife. For a long time I wondered why he ever married a woman like my mom in the first place, as she was the total opposite of that in every way. If he wanted a woman to bow to him, there were plenty of girls back in Tzaneen being raised solely for that purpose. The way my mother always explained it, the traditional man wants the woman to be subservient, but he never falls in love with subservient women. He’s attracted to independent women. “He’s like an exotic bird collector,” she said. “He only wants a woman who is free because his dream is to put her in a cage.”

2. So I was kept inside. Other than those few instances of walking in the park, the flashes of memory I have from when I was young are almost all indoors, me with my mom in her tiny flat, me by myself at my gran’s. I didn’t have any friends. I didn’t know any kids besides my cousins. I wasn’t a lonely kid – I was good at being alone. I’d read books, play with the toy that I had, make up imaginary worlds. I lived inside my head. I still live inside my head. To this day you can leave me alone for hours and I’m perfectly happy entertaining myself. I have to remember to be with people.

3. There was no stepfather in the picture yet, no baby brother crying in the night. It was me and her, alone. There was this sense of the two of us embarking on a grand adventure. She’d say things to me like, “It’s you and me against the world.” I understood even from an early age that we weren’t just mother and son. We were a team.

4. People say that all the time that they’d do anything for the people they love. But would you really? Would you do anything? Would you give everything? I don’t know that a child knows that kind of selfless love. A mother, yes. A mother will clutch her children and jump from a moving car to keep them from harm. She will do it without thinking. But I don’t think the child knows how to do that, not instinctively. It’s something the child has to learn. ...more

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Oct 19, 2018 Martha rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: bipoc-authors-black, non-fiction, read-the-world, read-2018, unreadshelf2018

Trevor Noah's memoir about growing up in South Africa as apartheid was coming to an end. I really liked the sections where Noah speaks more about apartheid and the history of South Africa, it was an area I knew virtually nothing about.

However, the most surprising part was the emotion I felt towards the end when Noah was talking about his mother. Reading a comedian's memoir, you never quite know if it's going to be just another part of their comedy work or if it will be something more. While the ...more

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