Born a Crime: Stories From a South African Childhood in Reading with Style

Jan 08, 2018 Snowtulip rated it it was amazing

Shelves: non-fiction

"When you make the effort to speak someone else's language, even if it's just basic phrases here and there, you are saying to them, 'I understand that you have a culture and identity that exists beyond me. I see you as a human being'".

"Crime is grassroots. Crime looks for the young kids who need support and a lifting hand. Crime offers internship programs and summer jobs and opportunities advancement. Crime gets involved in the community. Crime doesn't discriminate."

"People love to say, 'Give a ...more

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Sep 14, 2017 Rachel N. rated it really liked it

Shelves: read-in-2017, audiobook, autobiography, memoir, coming-of-age

Trevor Noah tells of his life growing up in South Africa. His father is white and his mother black so his birth during apartheid was literally a crime. I knew next to nothing about Trevor Noah going into this but had heard rave reviews for the audio. I found the stories of his youth fascinating but not exactly humorous. I also wish the book was written in more of a chronological order. I wanted the book to continue to hear how Trevor Noah ended up anchoring the Daily Show.

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Nov 28, 2018 Krista rated it it was amazing

Shelves: race-relations, time-2000-2009, audio-book-cd, non-fiction, autobiography-memoir, setting-africa, time-1950-1999, time-2010-2019, setting-africa-south-africa, favorites

What a great book! I love that it was narrated by Trevor Noah. It makes me want to start watching The Daily Show now. :-) It didn't quite come up to a 5-star book for me. I can't quite figure out why, but there you go. But it was well worth the time invested to learn more about the living and social conditions in South Africa.

I'd recommend this read! ...more

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Sep 27, 2018 Joanna rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobooks, biography-memoir, nonfiction, passport, 2018-read, rws-2018-fall

A really wonderful audiobook read by the author (who made a living as a comedian, so he has the timing down perfectly). Definitely a perfect way to experience these stories; it absolutely felt like I was just hanging out with the author at a cocktail party as he told me little stories from his childhood. But the stories are still heartfelt; he isn't just looking for comedy here.

He could also have called this book Ode to My Mother because much of the book centers around her willingness to ignore ...more

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Feb 16, 2017 Emily Green rated it it was amazing

Really a great read. Noah provides a lot of background information of South African History which provides context for his story. I highly recommend this book.

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