Book Review: Born a Crime by Trevor Noah
The Indian Book Club’s July Book of the Month- Born a Crime by Trevor Noah
Trevor Noah, a South African comedian known for hosting The Daily Show, penned "Born a Crime," a memoir released in 2016. This book delves into Noah's formative years and early adult life in South Africa, spanning the periods during and after apartheid.
The memoir's title alludes to Noah's very existence being against the law when he was born. His mother, a black Xhosa woman, and his father, a white man of Swiss-German descent, had a child together when such unions were prohibited under apartheid legislation. This distinctive heritage profoundly influences Noah's life story and worldview, serving as a central theme throughout the narrative.
Ruchita
I want to preface this by saying, I don't read a lot of non-fiction and despite being a fantasy girlie, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this one. This one is non-fiction that reads like fiction. I was mildly resistant to start this book only because I wasn’t ready for a subject matter that’d be as traumatizing as living in Africa during apartheid. But to the credit of Trevor Noah, while I feel educated by this book, I don’t feel weighed down by all the tragedies, his family and those in Africa at the time dealt with.
”Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood” is a memoir by the host of The Daily Show and you can see his humor steep through the pages. The book details Noah's experiences growing up in South Africa during and after apartheid. His mixed-race heritage—having a black Xhosa mother and a white Swiss father—meant his very existence was considered illegal under apartheid laws. This juxtaposition sets the stage for a narrative that is as much about survival and resilience as it is about the absurdities of the racial divide and the strength of familial bonds. The memoir explores themes of identity, race, and resilience, blending humor and poignant storytelling. Noah also highlights the strong influence of his mother on his life and his journey to becoming a successful comedian.
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Apoorva
When I was reading this, I was continuously reminded of a quote from New York feminism movement activist Carol Hanisch i.e. “Personal is Political”, how politics of our times can affect us emotionally and personally and can determine how we will see the world around us growing up and even how we will see and treat other people in our lives.
Born a Crime is a memoir of Trevor Noah a successful and popular comedian and TV personality from South Africa. The birth of an interracial child was a crime in South Africa in the period in which he was born and he himself being a son of a Swiss white father and a black African mother was a “coloured child”.
The book is a detailed work on his childhood and early adulthood in Post-apartheid South Africa. With the birth of Noah, the birth of a new South Africa also took place where apartheid fell and Nelson Mandela became president.
The book includes a satirical commentary on mindless institutional racism prevalent in contemporary South Africa which is clear from the title itself. The book also invokes a different viewpoint where it shows how unemployment increased after apartheid fell and how the South African system was not completely ready for that change.
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Happy Reading!