Book 8: Born a Crime by Trevor Noah



Born a Crime fulfills the “A Book Where the Author is from Asia, Africa, or South America” category of the PopSugar 2019 Reading Challenge.

I think I double-dipped on this list item. I read Trevor’s book and also My Sister, the Serial Killer, both authors being from Africa. But it’s all good. The perspective shift I received from Born a Crime helped me better understand the storyline of the other book. But I’m getting ahead of myself. 

Born a Crime is an autobiographical tale of Trevor Noah’s childhood in South Africa. He was ten when Apartheid finally ended there. Being a mixed-race child, he spent those ten years unable to be with his father, hiding his heritage, and living a life I could never imagine. And when Apartheid fell, not much changed for him. The book chronicles many events and circumstances that created the man we know from The Daily Show. Noah used humor, language, and deep insights to help curb the tough topics discussed throughout the entire book. 

And what a book…

I listened to the book on audio and so should you.

Do that.

If you plan to read it, let Trevor read for you. He’s an amazing storyteller. His accent is dreamy, but when he slides into one of the half-dozen languages he knows…wow, just wow. 

Wow.

As I read, finding out all the terrible, wonderful, tough things the man endured growing up in South Africa, I could feel my white privilege shining all over me. The man went through the wringer, but he found a way to survive and thrive even though he was an outcast in his society. He chose to be himself and made a stand. I’m awed and amazed by the man and his journey. I’m also humbled that he accomplished so much with all those barriers in his way. It’ll be a long time before I whine about anything.

And the man’s mother? Can we nominate her for sainthood? What a woman! Every story about her strength, commitment, and sometimes odd mothering styles (chasing her son down the street) had me laughing, crying, and grateful that women like her exist in the world. That strong women like her fight for their families, teach their sons to be strong, and keep humor in their hearts the entire time.

Needless to say, I very much enjoyed Born a Crime. The mix of humor, tragedy, political topics, and oppression moved me as I read (listened) and made me think of ways to make my little piece of the world a more loving, open place for everyone. It’s not an easy read or a completely humorous one. But it is a heartfelt tale of a real person who started very low and became a good person, successful comedian, and his mother’s pride and joy.

Five thumbs up in all seven of Trevor’s languages.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Book 49 Lost in Austen

Image
Lost in Austen: Create Your Own Jane Austen Adventure by Emily Campbell Webster fulfilled the “ Choose-Your-Own-Adventure Book ” category of the PopSugar 2019 Reading Challenge. As a child of the 80s, I read Choose-Your-Own-Adventure stories voraciously. In fact, I can remember with the first five writing all the page numbers and rereading until I hit every page. I’m not obsessive. Why do you ask? When I saw the category, I was thrilled. Tons of the new versions have come out in the last thirty years. (Man, I ’m old.) I recently found The Oregon Trail Choose-Your-Own-Adventure books. There are two old obsessions rolled into one, right there. I joked that every ending but one had to be “Your party dies of dysentery.” But for this super serious blog, I wanted a grown-up novel. But not too adult that it wasn ’t super fun. Because I’m six. I was thrilled to see the huge list of books in this genre for adults. In fact, I found one very adult story the other day. Choose-Your...
Read more

Book 46 The Kiss Quotient

The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang fulfilled the “Debut Book” category of the PopSugar 2019 Reading Challenge. Ms. Hoang's book debut to great acclaim in 2018. It is a steamy romance with a happy ending. The book is perfect. I’ve studied romance writing for about ten years. The natural arc of a romance has been tattooed on my brain by many workshops, professional books, and colleagues. If you read Romancing the Beats by Gwen Hayes, it sounds so easy, so formulaic. But trust me, a good romance has that arc well buried under layers of great story, interesting characters, and conflict. Ms. Hoang perfected the model on her first go. The story depicts a wealthy Asian woman with autism. She wants to find a soul mate or at least a date and settle down, fulfilling the expectations of her parents. Her intellectual mind says “hire an escort and practice” to get versed in sex and relationships. Thank goodness she finds the right guy on the first try. The Kiss Quotient ...
Read more

Book 36 The Life of Pi

Image
The Life of Pi by Yann Martel fulfilled the “Book Seen Read on TV or in a Movie” category of the PopSugar 2019 Reading Challenge. This novel was not originally on my List Challenge for the category. I decided to use it over Mark Twain’s A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court or Stephen Hawking’s A Brief History of Time . Time is running out for the blog. I still have many novels to finish and some are very long. House of Leaves , I’m looking at you.  I opted to add a novel I’d already read in 2019. I’ve made three oops while doing this project. I read two for the category “A Book Written by Someone from Asia, Africa, or South America.” And I read two for the “Book Revolving around a Puzzle or Game” category. And I read The Life of Pi . I don’t know where I felt it fit, but the story works here.  My research shows novel was on Gilmore Girls . Checking a couple lists, I found it was at least mentioned. Footage of Rory or someone else actually reading th...
Read more