I really ejoyed the memoir Born A Crime: Stories From A South African Childhood by Trevor Noah. It had the ability to make me laugh out loud and break my heart into tiny little pieces.
Trevor was born to a white father and a black mother, which at the time, their union was punishable by law - up to five years in prison. Trevor Noah shares his story, about growing up during apartheid. How his mother was resourceful and clever in the ways she hid him from the government so he couldn’t be taken away from her. Trevor was five years old when Nelson Mandela was released from prison and Trevor and his mother are able to live freely. I loved how he describes his mother and his relationship with her, you can tell they have a close bond and he respects and loves her.. It also seems that he has her same resourcefulness and desire to live his life the way he wants as he grows up and finds ways of making money.
There are two reasons why this was just short of a five star read for me. One because the end is his mother’s story. Believe me, it will bring you to tears, but I wish that it wouldn’t have been separated the way it was and instead told within the rest of the story. It’s an important piece so I’m glad it’s included, I just wish that had been done a little differently and second, again I know it’s a memoir so you don’t have to tell your whole life, but whether you already know who Trevor Noah is before reading the book or not, there is no link to how he got from South Africa to the US and how he ended up on the Daily Show. To me a quick explanation could have been the epilogue. My hope is that he will write a follow up and fill us all in. This memoir is well worth a read.
Bookworm Rating: 🐛🐛🐛🐛
Comentarios