Born a Crime: Stories From a South African Childhood in Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge

Nov 29, 2017 Sarah rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: africa-nonfiction, black-history-and-culture, nonfiction, south-africa

So, I am not a huge memoir reader, and I don't really care about celebrities, so I realize my next statement will be tempered by these limitations, but this is, by far and away, the best celebrity memoir I've ever read, and probably one of the best memoirs I've ever read, period. I was already impressed with Trevor Noah, but I am more so now. And as a USAmerican abroad, I so appreciate that the host of The Daily Show is someone who's not always lived in the US, and can look at it from both the o ...more

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Aug 31, 2018 Kate rated it it was amazing

Shelves: audiobook, memoir, book-riot-2018

Great book. Powerful ending. My only criticism is that he jumps over a pretty big transition from hustling pirated cds on the corner to touring the country doing stand-up in a single sentence. How’d that happen???

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Jan 24, 2018 Loretta rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: non-fiction, audiobooks

Thoroughly enjoyed this and would highly recommend it. It isn't a "celebrity" memoir, in that it isn't remotely about how Noah came to be the host of the Daily Show. Rather, it is about his childhood in South Africa, including thoughtful discussions about race under the hateful system of apartheid, the pernicious and continuing effects of colonialism. Most of all, though, what I will remember most is the way this is a loving tribute to his mother.

Noah is an outstanding narrator, unsurprisingly. ...more

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