The book Born a Crime, written by Trevor Noah, the famous T.V show host of “The Daily Show,” is a hilarious book that showcases the hardships, and the joys, of growing up as a mixed boy in South Africa.
Noah drew the inspiration of this book from his childhood as a South African boy growing up during a time known as apartheid. Apartheid was a system of discrimination on the grounds of race that enforced policies of segregation against the majority of South Africans.
During this time it was illegal for an black person to have children with a Caucasian person. Noah’s mother, Patricia Noah, was a Xhosa woman native to South Africa. Although illegal, she had her son, Trevor, with a white man of Swiss origin named Robert Noah.
Patricia and Robert Noah would have faced fines and imprisonment, if they were caught, when their son was born. This was because Noah was, in fact, a crime. This unfortunate law was the inspiration behind Noah’s book title “Born a Crime.”
Noah references multiple times to how his skin color had such an impact on his life. In the book he states how others had never seen a boy as light as he was so he was often the topic of conversation. Because of his this Noah was also constantly hidden wherever he went. His mother couldn’t risk the police seeing him and asking questions. While other children would play outside, he would have to stay inside and play by himself.
When Noah was able to go outside he spoke of the precautions his family had to take. His father would have to walk on the other side of the street so they didn’t look suspicious. Also when his mother saw police she would have to drop him and pretend like he wasn’t her child.
Although these memories seem painful, Noah puts a positive spin on his childhood with hilarious analogies and stories in between. He speaks of how his mother was a religious woman and would drag him to 3 different churches every Sunday. He also spoke of how he was an extremely naughty child and his mother was very big on discipline. One of the stories they stick out is how is mother would chase him through the neighborhood to discipline him.
Through the good and bad memories Noah finds a way to keep a light, witty attitude throughout his autobiography. There was times he spoke of issues that are hard to hear. He had stories of his abusive stepfather and the pain he put his family through.
This novel was difficult to put down due to not only its interesting content but also the quirky personalities of his family and the funny comedy spilled throughout the book. Noah found a way to have readers identify and relate to his different childhood through the descriptions of his family, friends and experiences.
The autobiography “Born a Crime” was not only informative and interesting but a must read for anyone interested in laughing and genuinely enjoying the material they are reading!
