Born a Crime by Trevor Noah

 

Title:  Born a Crime

Author:  Trevor Noah

Narrated by:  Trevor Noah

Publisher: Audible Studios

Length: Approximately 8 hours and 44 minutes

Source: Purchased from Audible.com.  Thank-you!

 Do you have a favorite comedian?  I enjoy Trevor Noah as a comedian, but I was more than a little surprised to discover what a heartfelt memoir he had written.  It definitely has its points of humor, but was also a very serious look at his life growing up.

As the title states, Trevor Noah was born a crime.  His black Xhosa mother and white Swiss father were not allowed to marry or be together in apartheid South Africa. 

"On February 20, 1984, my mother checked into Hillbrow Hospital for a scheduled C-section delivery. Estranged from her family, pregnant by a man she could not be seen with in public, she was alone. 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."

Noah details his growing up in South Africa with vignettes about his family and friends.  It was a touching and humorous look at life, and a great coming of age memoir.  I really loved that Trevor Noah narrated the audiobook himself.  It made it a very personable experience. 

This audiobook gave me a much deeper understanding of Apartheid in South Africa and how it impacted the various people.  Trevor Noah had to learn how to adapt to different situations based on his color.

We started this on a trip quite awhile ago and finally finished this up in January.    My teenage sons enjoyed it as well.  Trevor Noah does swear and have adult type humor as a warning – but if you’ve listened to him on the Daily Show, it’s the same as you would be used to.  The most horrifying part was listening to the abuse that he and his mother faced from his stepfather, and about his mother’s shooting. 

Overall, this is a memoir you won’t forget.  It is tragedy and comedy all rolled up into one epic story.