Title: Born A Crime
Author: Trevor Noah
Genre: Autobiography/memoir
Material source: iBooks
My rating: 5 / 5 🌟
About the book:
Trevor Noah grew up as a coloured boy in South Africa during a time when having mixed parents was illegal. Growing up with a Swiss father and a Xhosa mother during apartheid meant risking imprisonment daily, and as such he mostly saw the inside of his home during his early years. When apartheid finally broke down, Trevor and his mother began living more openly and freely.
“Born A Crime” is a collection of essays documenting a childhood full of mischievousness; a fearless, religious and protective mother; an abusive stepfather; and a post-high school life of petty crime and poverty. This memoir documents an attempted kidnapping, a lost dog, eating caterpillars for dinner, and a shooting. It documents ups and downs and ultimately hope, all woven together with humour and love.
My opinion:
This book shocked me, teared up my eyes, made me chortle with laughter, and intrigued me immensely. I don’t know all that much about apartheid. It is something I grew up hearing about, in that vague way children hear mentioned on the news or by parents, but I never really learnt anything about it. I was hugely shocked by the tales told by Trevor Noah. I had no idea just how separated black, white and coloured people were, to the point where entire cities were built for specific groups of people. I didn’t realise the full extent of the violence that erupted as apartheid fell. In this book I learned how dangerous it was for a single woman with children to catch a bus. I learned that even a trip to the zoo could endanger Trevor and his mother.
As shocking as it was, I was also very interested in what I was learning about.
The relationship between Trevor and his mother is what really made this book for me. Her unconditional, almost forceful love of her son, and his obvious love and devotion to her is incredible to read about. Right from the beginning, his mother makes sure Trevor knows that she ‘chose’ him. In a world where a mixed relationship was illegal, she chose to have a mixed child, and loved him with all she had.
Noah writes with great humour, and there are some hilarious stories in this book (note the one in his grandmother’s house…!). I greatly enjoyed the comedy threaded through such serious subjects – it made it no less serious, but far easier to read than had it not been there.
I really did love this book. It’s different to anything I’ve read recently, highly enjoyable, but also very interesting. Pick up a copy.
Bookish Wanders 