A nice read and glimpse into a personal perspective of someone who lived in South Africa during apartheid. It's worth a read if only for that perspective. If you don't like it, it's only ~250 pages so no big deal. I give it 5 CD burners out of 5 CD burners - hopefully they are faster than 1x :) ( )

Everyone should read this book. I laughed, I cried. I recommend the audiobook - Trevor Noah is a great writer and a great narrator. ( )

Born a Crime is the memoir of South African comedian Trevor Noah who grew up during Apartheid and its turbulent aftermath. The title refers to his birth as a mixed race child, a union between people of different races being illegal at the time. Trevor’s mother was a courageous Xhosa woman whose daily life defied the system that tried to suppress her. His father was a Swiss man. Trevor and his mother spent years hidden away in the city in a white area that was illegal for them to live in.

Trevor’s story takes us through his experiences living in a white area where he was considered too black, in a township in Soweto where he was considered too white and in a coloured area where he looked similar but was culturally too black to fit in.

I enjoyed the portrayal of his mother, the hardships of her life, her obvious strength and resilience, and the deep respect he clearly has for her. I found some of the sections about how gangster he was less engaging. It also felt like it was very clearly written for an American audience and I wondered how South African readers would perceive this story. I certainly can’t imagine any South African ever referring to their mother as Mom! 3.5 stars for me. ( )

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. ( )

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. ( )