Book Review: Born a Crime
As a longtime fan of The Daily Show I went through the transition of The Daily Show being handed from Jon Stewart to Trevor Noah. I'll admit the transition has been turbulent to say the least but in the last couple of months Trevor Noah has been coming in to his own. When I heard he had published a novel I picked up the audiobook on Audible and it might have been one of the best surprises of the year.
Born a Crime takes place in Trevor's childhood in South Africa. He was born to an African mother and a Swiss father during the apartheid. Going in I really didn't know anything about the apartheid. But I felt like I learned so much about that time in South Africa from Trevor Noah's childhood perspective. He starts the novel talking about his mother, her free spirit, and her path to leave her own family behind and go out on her own. The stories of Trevor's mother not only give you some perspective of Trevor's upbringing but the state of affairs in South Africa.
There are two things that makes Born a Crime an incredible biography. First, Trevor Noah's life is fascinating. His upbringing is so different then anything I've ever experienced in my own life that I kept coming back to the book surprised and delighted. Second, and most important is that it felt like it was told from his own unique perspective. He gave a lot of insights into his own psyche during some of his biggest turning points.
This is not a novel that at all touches his comedic career but instead his upbringing. If like me you were hoping to hear about he he became the lead of The Daily Show you might be disappointed. That minor let down was made up for by some incredible stories and a life that's absolutely worth reading about. It's a real rags to riches story that will stick with me for a long time.
For a little bonus content. A week or two back Trevor Noah may have hosted one of his finest Daily Show episodes since taking over the reigns. He interviewed Tomi Lahren a new right-wing pundit and all around Trump supporter. Trevor in my opinion did a phenomenal job. The most poignant part of this interview coming on the discussion of how a black person in America is supposed to make their voice heard. If its not taking a knee during the national anthem or peacefully protesting, how does one get their voice heard? A great watch and continues to make me scratch my head as to why anyone would have ever voted for Trump.
