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: nonfiction, audiobooks, 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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Mar 27, 2018 Shannon rated it it was ok

Shelves: read-harder-2018

Read Harder 2018: Celebrity Memoir

If the point of the Read Harder challenge is to read books in categories I would never choose, that is certainly true in this case. I don't know that I've ever read a celebrity memoir and, based on this one, I never will again. I chose this book because I thought it wouldn't be pure fluff. I'd hoped for depth. And while there was some depth there, it only came in quick here-and-gone-again glimpses. What I got instead what a book that left me feeling heavy and un ...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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Jul 07, 2018 Megan rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites, memoirs

One of the best books I’ve read in a while! I’m bummed I didn’t listen to it on audio (he reads it) but I went to see his book talk when this came out, and it included a copy of the book. He said he thought he was going to write a book about growing up in South Africa at the end of Apartheid, but in reality, it turned into a love story to his mom. It was beautiful! I might spend the extra money and get it on audio, too...this would be the perfect thing for a long car ride.

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Jan 14, 2018 Erika rated it it was amazing

Absolutely fascinating!

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Jan 12, 2020 Christina rated it it was amazing

Shelves: non-fiction, tbr-for-2019, audiobook

Absolutely lives up to all of the hype. So glad I listened to the audio since it is read by Trevor. Highly recommend.

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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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Jun 21, 2020 Rivkah rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

This was a great read, but now that I’ve read Trevor Noah’s anti-semitic tweets from the past for which he does not apologize, I can no longer recommend it.

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