Born a Crime Born a Crime

Born a Crime

Stories from a South African Childhood

    • 4.7 • 5K Ratings
    • $14.99
    • $14.99

Publisher Description

#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.

GENRE
Biographies & Memoirs
RELEASED
2016
November 15
LANGUAGE
EN
English
LENGTH
304
Pages
PUBLISHER
Random House Publishing Group
SELLER
Penguin Random House LLC
SIZE
2.5
MB

Customer Reviews

Muzic80 ,

An imperative read

This book is thoughtful, insightful, and deeply touching. In 2016, this is a book that I think can teach everybody, of every color, something new yet horrific about the world we live in. A sobering read, but ultimately rewarding and optimistic. Wonderful prose. Think of the last time you read a book written by a person of color (if you're not one yourself) and then commit to widening your horizons here.

Aida G.-Las Vegas ,

Born a Crime

It's been a long while since I've read such a moving, mind inspiring book. Trevor Noah is a real person who has lived life and experienced, very personally, the pain and joy of a full life, taking with him hard lessons and never becoming a victim. kudos!

lirennner ,

Loved It

Thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and learning Trevor’s backstory. Very entertaining!

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