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Born a Crime: Stories from a South African…
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Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood (original 2016; edition 2016)

by Trevor Noah (Author)

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingMentions
6,1163591,596 (4.36)432
Noah's path from apartheid South Africa to the desk of The Daily Show began with a criminal act: his birth. Born to a white Swiss father and a black Xhosa mother, at the time such a union was punishable by five years in prison. As he struggles to find himself in a world where he was never supposed to exist, his mother is determined to save her son from the cycle of poverty, violence, and abuse that would ultimately threaten her own life. With an incisive wit and unflinching honesty, Noah weaves together a moving yet funny portrait of a boy making his way through a damaged world in a dangerous time.… (more)
Member:bonniev
Title:Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood
Authors:Trevor Noah (Author)
Info:One World (2016), Edition: Later Printing, 304 pages
Collections:Your library
Rating:****
Tags:None

Work Information

Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah (2016)

  1. 00
    Kaffir Boy: The True Story of a Black Youth's Coming of Age in Apartheid South Africa by Mark Mathabane (meggyweg)
  2. 11
    Q & A by Vikas Swarup (supersidvicious)
    supersidvicious: Love helps you survive in worlds of hunger, misery and violence
  3. 01
    Everything Sad Is Untrue: (a true story) by Daniel Nayeri (bjappleg8)
    bjappleg8: both are brilliant stories of boys caught between worlds with heroic mothers.
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» See also 432 mentions

English (349)  Estonian (1)  Catalan (1)  Spanish (1)  German (1)  All languages (353)
Showing 1-5 of 349 (next | show all)
I’ve always liked Trevor Noah. I find him hilarious and extremely intelligent. This book made me love him even more. Filled with stories that will make you laugh and stories that will make you cry, his memoir is definitely a story of hope and faith. ( )
  jbrownleo | Mar 27, 2024 |
Wow. Trevor Noah certainly led an interesting life in South Africa. I'm ashamed to admit I never really knew much about how bad Apartheid was. I knew it existed and just likened it to segregation after the Civil War in the US. Boy was I wrong.

This is a great book to not only get a touch of history, but to read the life of an interesting person. I enjoyed Noah's storytelling and earmarked quite a few pages for the anecdotes and life lessons he tells.

I picked this up because it's been on my list for a while and I figured I'd finally read it. I'm sure glad I did. This is an excellent biography for anyone to read. ( )
  teejayhanton | Mar 22, 2024 |
I love Trevor Noah, and this book did not let me down. It was a very honest and educational tale of his childhood in South Africa, what it was like growing up, and how apartheid affecting everything. Easily one of the best biographies I've read, and I look forward to his next one.


Would fit The 52 Book Club's 2021 prompts:
1 - Set in a School
2 - Featuring The Legal Profession
8 - A Book in the 900's of the Dewey Decimal System
10 - Related to the Word Fire
17 - A Character On The Run
23 - An Ending That Surprises You
26 - An Author of Colour
28 - Includes a Historical Event You Know Little About
32 - A Selfish Character
35 - Set In A Country That Starts With The Letter S
37 - An Educational Read
40 - Found via Bookstagram
43 - A Character With a Pet Cat
44 - Includes a Garden
45 - A Coming of Age Novel
47 - A Character With a Disability
48 - Cover With a Woman Who is Facing Away ( )
  Linyarai | Mar 6, 2024 |
Wonderful, colorful stories from Mr. Noah's childhood, not just about the insidious institution of apartheid but about its democratic aftermath; family and particularly, his mother's fierce love; being different because he was "colored" and therefore neither black nor white (his mother a Black African, his father a Swiss-German ex-pat), and, under the apartheid regime, a "crime" because he was the product of an illegal union; religion; and rebellion. The stories are not presented linearly, and they are often vignettes, but they trace Mr. Noah's life from his birth in 1984 to his early years as a comedian. I read part of it on my Kindle app but listened to most on Audible. Mr. Noah narrated, which made it perfect. ( )
  bschweiger | Feb 4, 2024 |
I laughed, I raged at the world, I marveled at Trevor's adaptability, and I began to believe in something a little bit mystical in this world. I could hear so much of his voice, and I felt like I was getting to know a new side of Trevor. This was so well-written that I felt like we were two friends just chatting, and he was telling stories as we sat somewhere cozy.

Won in a Goodreads Giveaway! ( )
  Jenniferforjoy | Jan 29, 2024 |
Showing 1-5 of 349 (next | show all)

» Add other authors

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Noah, Trevorprimary authorall editionsconfirmed
Artigas, NúriaTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Bronswijk, Ineke vanTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Oostindiër, AnnoesjkaTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Schlatterer, HeikeÜbersetzersecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Studios, AudiblePublishersecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed

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Dedication
For my mother. My first fan. Thank you for making me a man.
First words
The genius of apartheid was convincing people who were the overwhelming majority to turn on each other.
Quotations
Growing up the way I did, I learned how easy it is for white people to get comfortable with a system that awards them all the perks.
That, and so many other smaller incidents in my life, made me realize that language, even more than color, defines who you are to people.
The doctors took her up to the delivery room, cut open her belly, and reached in and pulled out a half-white, half-black child who violated any number of laws, statutes, and regulations—I was born a crime.
Sometimes we’d pull over and go up to the wall, and she’d put me on her shoulders like I was a little periscope.
I was just high-energy and knew what I wanted to do.
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(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
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Noah's path from apartheid South Africa to the desk of The Daily Show began with a criminal act: his birth. Born to a white Swiss father and a black Xhosa mother, at the time such a union was punishable by five years in prison. As he struggles to find himself in a world where he was never supposed to exist, his mother is determined to save her son from the cycle of poverty, violence, and abuse that would ultimately threaten her own life. With an incisive wit and unflinching honesty, Noah weaves together a moving yet funny portrait of a boy making his way through a damaged world in a dangerous time.

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Book description
Trevor Noah, host of The Daily Show on Comedy Central, shares his remarkable story of growing up in South Africa with a black South African mother and a white European father at a time when it was against the law for a mixed-race child to exist. But he did exist--and from the beginning, the often-misbehaved Trevor used his keen smarts and humor to navigate a harsh life under a racist government.

In a country where racism barred blacks from social, educational, and economic opportunity, Trevor surmounted staggering obstacles and created a promising future for himself thanks to his mom’s unwavering love and indomitable will.

This honest and poignant memoir adapted from the #1 New York Times bestseller Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood will astound and inspire readers as well as offer a fascinating perspective on South Africa’s tumultuous racial history.
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