Born a Crime

and Other Stories

Paperback, 342 pages

English language

Published Nov. 12, 2016 by Macmillan.

ISBN:
978-1-77010-506-5
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OCLC Number:
964574945

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5 stars (5 reviews)

Trevor Noah’s path from apartheid South Africa to the desk of The Daily Show in New York began with a criminal act: his birth. Trevor was born to a white Swiss father and a black Xhosa mother at a time when such a union was punishable by five years in prison. Born a Crime is the story of a mischievous young boy who grows into a restless young man as he struggles to find himself in a world where he was never supposed to exist. It is also the story of his relationship with his fearless, rebellious and fervently religious mother – his teammate, a woman determined to save her son from the cycle of poverty, violence and abuse that would ultimately threaten her own life.

The eighteen personal essays collected here are by turns hilarious, dramatic and deeply affecting. Whether being thrown from a moving car during an attempted …

20 editions

Review of 'Born a Crime' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

I did not expect this book to be as good as it is, and it probably works better as an audio because Noah is an excelent narrator and he is able to correctly pronounce the sentences in different languages, and even sing. You can even listen to his voice breaking up when he is reliving some bad moments. I thought the book would be more focused on how he became a celebrity, but instead it taught me a lot about the Apartheid in South Africa. He writes about his childhood in a way that gives you a pause, I often stopped to compare my life to his as we are almost the same age and yet we are universes apart. What an insightful book, if you have the time please read it.