Under apartheid, his parents' relationship was illegal. Trevor Noah's very existence was a crime.
One of the funniest and most moving memoirs around, and a sharp introduction to apartheid. The structure jumps in time and a few chapters drag. Four and a half out of five.
Every guide comes as a video and a full written article. Pick the one you need: the review is spoiler-free, the ending explained is not.
Is Born a Crime worth reading? An honest review of Trevor Noah's memoir about growing up in apartheid South Africa: Patricia Noah, the stories, the humor and history, what doesn't work, and my score.
How accurate is the history in Born a Crime? A fact check of Trevor Noah's apartheid essays: the Immorality Act, racial classification, the Chinese and Japanese joke, pass laws, Bantu education, and what has changed since.
The final chapter of Born a Crime explained: Abel, the violence, the shooting of Patricia Noah, her survival, her famous joke, what happened to Abel, and what the ending means. Content warning: domestic violence.
Loved Born a Crime? Seven memoirs to read next: Educated, The Glass Castle, Long Walk to Freedom, Kaffir Boy, Becoming, Crying in H Mart and I'm Glad My Mom Died.
Is Born a Crime by Trevor Noah worth reading? A one-minute, spoiler-free review: the setup, the catch, and my score.
Born a Crime (2016) is Trevor Noah’s memoir of growing up in South Africa as the son of a black Xhosa mother and a white Swiss German father, at a time when their relationship was against the law. At its heart is his mother, Patricia.
Below you’ll find a review, the final chapter explained, a fact check of the apartheid history, and seven memoirs to read next.
Trevor Noah was born in Johannesburg in nineteen eighty four, to a black Xhosa mother and a white Swiss German father. Under apartheid, a relationship between a black person and a white person was illegal. So his very existence was a crime. That's the title.
The book follows his childhood and teenage years, from hiding indoors as a mixed-race toddler in Soweto, to life after apartheid ended, to his early twenties. But really, it's about his mother.
Trevor Noah was born in Johannesburg in nineteen eighty four, to a black Xhosa mother and a white Swiss German father. Under apartheid, a relationship between a black person and a white person was illegal. So his very existence was a crime. That's the title.
One of the funniest and most moving memoirs around, and a sharp introduction to apartheid. The structure jumps in time and a few chapters drag. Four and a half out of five. Read it if: you love funny memoirs; you want to understand apartheid; you need a book club pick everyone will finish. Skip it if: strong language bothers you; reading about family violence is too much right now; you want the story of his comedy career. Review: Born a Crime →
Our ending explained covers the final chapters in full, with spoilers. The final chapter of Born a Crime explained: Abel, the violence, the shooting of Patricia Noah, her survival, her famous joke, what happened to Abel, and what the ending means. Content warning: domestic violence. Ending explained: Born a Crime →
Educated by Tara Westover, The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls, Long Walk to Freedom by Nelson Mandela, Kaffir Boy by Mark Mathabane, Becoming by Michelle Obama, Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner. Books like it: Born a Crime →
Yes. It's Trevor Noah's 2016 memoir of growing up in South Africa, from his early childhood under apartheid to his early twenties. It doesn't cover his comedy career.
About three hundred pages, in eighteen chapters grouped into three parts, with short history essays between the chapters. There's also a young readers' edition.
The big themes are his mother, Patricia, and her faith and independence; race and not fitting any box under apartheid; language as a way to belong; and humor as a way to survive.
Abel is a charming mechanic Trevor's mother marries, and the father of Trevor's younger brothers, Andrew and Isaac. The last part of the book deals with his drinking and violence toward the family.
Trevor Noah narrates it himself, doing all the languages and voices.
Eighteen chapters, grouped into three parts, with short essays between them explaining pieces of South African history. It runs about three hundred pages.
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