His mom walks three feet in front of him, pretending to be a stranger while he stays close to a friend of hers; he is only three years old but is fully aware that there will be consequences if he gives any notion that the woman with darker skin than him is his real mom. Trevor Noah’s Born a Crime is an autobiography that digs deep into South Africa’s institutional racism during apartheid and immediately after. At the time of Noah’s birth, mixed-race relationships were illegal. Noah, with a white, Swiss-German father and a black mother, was evidence of the crime his parents committed. He grew up facing judgement from everyone except his mom. Noah recounts experiences of his childhood while balancing the historical significance of the novel with his humorous and mischievous personality.
Apartheid was a fairly recent system of racial segregation and discrimination in South Africa, officially ending in 1994. Going into the novel with little knowledge about apartheid, I worried I would have to research the topic while reading. However, Noah sufficiently explains the historical factor through his own experiences. Before each chapter, a statement describes why the experience in the following pages is significant to his upbringing. While I may not have learned much about the specific dates and events during apartheid, Noah’s personal account gave more: an understanding of the obstacles that South African racial minorities faced for decades.
Noah manages to educate readers on all this (possibly new) information with a humorous and articulate approach, adding to what readers already know from his childhood adventures. Not only did I witness his ordeals in response to apartheid, but I also observed his ambition and disobedience that he exemplified even from a young age. In the first chapter of the novel, Noah himself reveals, “I was naughty as shit,” setting readers up for the many instances that he tests limits with his stubborn and determined mother (Noah 11). The best part is that the humor does not take away from the seriousness of the book. Noah perfectly balances the comedy and gravity, and he changes the tone of the novel when one tactic fits better than the other. They are intertwined so well within the stories of his youth that I laughed and cried within the same chapter.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading Trevor Noah’s Born a Crime and ended up finding ways that I could relate to him. He somehow writes about his illegal childhood while still connecting with readers who grew up in completely different settings, showing what it means to be human. Almost anyone can find a way to relate to Noah, and that is why I would recommend Born a Crime to everyone I know that is old enough to handle a mature subject matter and complicated themes (and a few profanities).
Apartheid was a fairly recent system of racial segregation and discrimination in South Africa, officially ending in 1994. Going into the novel with little knowledge about apartheid, I worried I would have to research the topic while reading. However, Noah sufficiently explains the historical factor through his own experiences. Before each chapter, a statement describes why the experience in the following pages is significant to his upbringing. While I may not have learned much about the specific dates and events during apartheid, Noah’s personal account gave more: an understanding of the obstacles that South African racial minorities faced for decades.
Noah manages to educate readers on all this (possibly new) information with a humorous and articulate approach, adding to what readers already know from his childhood adventures. Not only did I witness his ordeals in response to apartheid, but I also observed his ambition and disobedience that he exemplified even from a young age. In the first chapter of the novel, Noah himself reveals, “I was naughty as shit,” setting readers up for the many instances that he tests limits with his stubborn and determined mother (Noah 11). The best part is that the humor does not take away from the seriousness of the book. Noah perfectly balances the comedy and gravity, and he changes the tone of the novel when one tactic fits better than the other. They are intertwined so well within the stories of his youth that I laughed and cried within the same chapter.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading Trevor Noah’s Born a Crime and ended up finding ways that I could relate to him. He somehow writes about his illegal childhood while still connecting with readers who grew up in completely different settings, showing what it means to be human. Almost anyone can find a way to relate to Noah, and that is why I would recommend Born a Crime to everyone I know that is old enough to handle a mature subject matter and complicated themes (and a few profanities).