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

Apr 30, 2017 Connie G rated it it was amazing

Shelves: south-africa, autobiography-memoir

"Born a Crime" is an enormously engaging memoir about the early years of Trevor Noah's life. Noah is the successful host of The Daily Show, the satirical American news show on Comedy Central. He was born in 1984 during apartheid in South Africa to a black Xhosa mother and a white Swiss father. His parents could have been jailed for five years for having a mixed race child, and Noah could have been sent to a state orphanage. He spent much of his childhood indoors at his grandmother's home with hi "Born a Crime" is an enormously engaging memoir about the early years of Trevor Noah's life. Noah is the successful host of The Daily Show, the satirical American news show on Comedy Central. He was born in 1984 during apartheid in South Africa to a black Xhosa mother and a white Swiss father. His parents could have been jailed for five years for having a mixed race child, and Noah could have been sent to a state orphanage. He spent much of his childhood indoors at his grandmother's home with his cousins for playmates since it was dangerous for him to be seen outdoors.

Post-apartheid, Noah went to school but he felt like he did not fit in because of his mixed heritage. Noah had picked up multiple languages from his mother and other people so he used language to be accepted in school and on the street. "I became a chameleon. My color didn't change, but I could change your perception of my color. If you spoke to me in Zulu, I replied to you in Zulu. If you spoke to me in Tswana, I replied to you in Tswana. Maybe I didn't look like you, but if I spoke like you, I was you." (56) South Africa has 11 official languages so Noah's facility with languages was important.

Noah's mother was a secretary who tried to expose Noah to the world. She was also very religious, and Sundays were spent going to multiple churches. Money was tight, but she made sure her son went to good schools and had books to read. Even when things were hard, their senses of humor always came through. When she married Noah's stepfather, Abel, their world changed. Although Abel was a good mechanic, he was a violent person when he was drinking. Noah left their home when he finished school, and continued his business of copying and selling pirated CDs for a few years. He also worked as a DJ at dances. Eventually he went on to become an internationally known comic.

This book is dedicated to his mother: "For my mother. My first fan. Thank you for making me a man." Noah's stories are sad and humorous at the same time. There's a wealth of knowledge about South African people in this book. Every time I put the book down, I wanted to get back to it to read more. Highly recommended! ...more

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Mar 16, 2019 Claire rated it liked it · review of another edition

I really enjoyed reading this book. It is a very fascinating insight on how the ‘Apartheids’ regime worked. That the book is written from the POV of a child makes it even more interesting.
I think it deserves 3,5 stars. At the times it loses the tension, the pace it needs. It feels like it goes wandering to start again. For me a bit more editing would have helped. But still a good read in its kind.

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