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

Aug 20, 2018 April rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobooks, nonfiction, bookriot2018

I knew that Trevor Noah was from South Africa, but I thought he was like, rich South African or something, because he's famous and lives in America. I'm glad I knew nothing about his past going in, because the whole time I was just floored by all the stuff he'd been through. He grew up poor. Like, eating caterpillars poor. And he dealt with violence, crime, racism, domestic abuse, and the fall of apartheid. Although the book is sometimes funny, it's more like a straight memoir than other books b ...more

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Oct 29, 2018 Holly rated it it was amazing

Shelves: book-club-built-for-2, 2018, audio

I had purchased a hardcover copy of this book several months before my friend recommended that I listen to the audio version. My husband and I took a road trip to DC and we listened to this on the way home. I'm so happy that I took my friend's advice! Trevor Noah is an incredibly gifted reader and the fact that he narrated the book took this book to a whole other level for me. The stories are funny, engaging, educational, and heartbreaking all at the same time and hearing them all in the author' ...more

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Sep 11, 2019 Alice rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: memoir, audiobooks-count

Eye-opening. Difficult. A damn good memoir! I cringed at Noah’s frequent, authentic, and oft-times dramatic use of f* word...but it’s his story-his telling.
And does Trevor Noah know how to tell it! He paints it in its apartheid/post-apartheid South Africa setting so vividly.
I was moved and humored by his relationship with his mother. The audiobook version was a delight as he did his mother’s voice and character—I kept hearing my dear friend’s Haitian-Mama voice and faith as she speaks to her s ...more

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Aug 29, 2017 Maggie Downs rated it it was amazing

I anticipated a funny, light book, and it wasn't that at all. It was better. In fact, it far exceeded my expectations, with Trevor Noah's effortless braiding of comedy and tragedy. I'll be thinking about these stories for a long time.
I highly recommend the audiobook, because Noah's narration adds so much to the experience. ...more

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