Book Review: Born A Crime by Trevor Noah

This is an autobiography by Trevor Noah. You know him, he took over Jon Stewart's Daily Show He's a comedian from South Africa.

I actually listened to this one and I'm glad I did. He read it himself in his South African accent and I totally thought it added an element to the story especially his interpretation of how his mother, Patricia, speaks. Don't we all have a voice in which we imitate our parent's voice? While our impressions are almost never accurate, somehow we all know when a person is impersonating their mother.

This book is all about Trevor's childhood. In fact, none of the book let's us in on a how a poor boy from Africa became a successful comedic TV host in America. I'd love if he would take a whole other book to tell us that story.

Trevor's childhood is something you will not be able to believe, you won't be able to relate to it in the slightest. I guarantee you that. The kind of poor he experienced will leave you sad and perhaps thinking you've never actually been hungry in your life.

His insight and explanation behind the racism he experienced in South Africa was unique to just him. Trevor was born to a black mother and white father, which was illegal. He spent a lot of time hiding from authorities and his mother and father could never lead on that they were together. The flavor of racism he endured comes with a burden you've never thought of before and it will leave your mind spinning.

When I have recommended this book to others I say, "You wont believe the life he had." You'll learn that you don't know much about how the world works. You will learn that you don't know shit about racism and you will learn that Trevor's mom, as Oprah puts it, Is a Bad Ass Gangsta Woman, and even that is an understatement.

Go read it! Or listen to it!