#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - More than one million copies sold! A "brilliant" (Lupita Nyong'o, Time ), "poignant" ( Entertainment Weekly ), "soul-nourishing" ( USA Today ) memoir about coming of age during the twilight of apartheid "Noah's childhood stories are told with all the hilarity and intellect that characterizes his comedy, while illuminating a dark and brutal period in South Africa's history that must never be forgotten."-- Esquire Winner of the Thurber Prize for American Humor and an NAACP Image Award ...
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#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - More than one million copies sold! A "brilliant" (Lupita Nyong'o, Time ), "poignant" ( Entertainment Weekly ), "soul-nourishing" ( USA Today ) memoir about coming of age during the twilight of apartheid "Noah's childhood stories are told with all the hilarity and intellect that characterizes his comedy, while illuminating a dark and brutal period in South Africa's history that must never be forgotten."-- Esquire Winner of the Thurber Prize for American Humor and an NAACP Image Award - Named one of the best books of the year by The New York Time, USA Today, San Francisco Chronicle, NPR, Esquire, Newsday, and Booklist Trevor Noah's unlikely path from apartheid South Africa to the desk of The Daily Show 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. Living proof of his parents' indiscretion, Trevor was kept mostly indoors for the earliest years of his life, bound by the extreme and often absurd measures his mother took to hide him from a government that could, at any moment, steal him away. Finally liberated by the end of South Africa's tyrannical white rule, Trevor and his mother set forth on a grand adventure, living openly and freely and embracing the opportunities won by a centuries-long struggle. 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 that young man's 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 stories collected here are by turns hilarious, dramatic, and deeply affecting. Whether subsisting on caterpillars for dinner during hard times, being thrown from a moving car during an attempted kidnapping, or just trying to survive the life-and-death pitfalls of dating in high school, Trevor illuminates his curious world with an incisive wit and unflinching honesty. His stories weave together to form a moving and searingly funny portrait of a boy making his way through a damaged world in a dangerous time, armed only with a keen sense of humor and a mother's unconventional, unconditional love.
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Born a Crime is about his life growing up in South Africa, up to his adult years. He focuses on his mother, his friends, and some intriguing youthful experiences. I had been meaning to read this book since I heard Trevor speaking about it in 2016 and have recently been pestered by my mom to read it. For good reason as it turns out, as the writing of this book is amazing. I am not normally a fan of nonfiction, but Trevor is engaging and tells his past through stories so that I was never bored. I loved learning about parts of his life that I had never known before and felt I developed more of an understanding of how he came to be the person he is. I only wish that he had talked about how he came to the US and his life here. I would recommend this book for any fan of Trevor Noah
Royston Vassey
Sep 27, 2017
Brilliant!
This was a well-written, thought-provoking book and I would recommend it to fans Trevor Noah, or even those who have never heard of him, but what to be entertained, and learn something in the bargain.
Gregory C H
Mar 1, 2017
I recommend the audio books version.
Excellent book made even better with the audio books version. To hear Trevor Noah in his own voice is outstanding. A brilliant, entertaining author giving insight into growing up the apartheid world of South Africa.
