Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood
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Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • With over a million copies sold, this “brilliant” (Lupita Nyong’o, Time), “poignant” (Entertainment Weekly), “soul-nourishing” (USA Today) memoir chronicles the coming of age during the twilight of apartheid. “Noah’s childhood tales blend hilarity and intellect, typical of his comedy, while shedding light on a dark and brutal period in South Africa’s history that must never be forgotten.”—Esquire Recipient of the Thurber Prize for American Humor and an NAACP Image Award • Selected as one of the best books of the year by The New York Times, USA Today, San Francisco Chronicle, NPR, Esquire, Newsday, and Booklist
Trevor Noah’s unlikely journey from apartheid South Africa to The Daily Show began with a criminal act: his birth. Born to a white Swiss father and a black Xhosa mother during a time when such a union was punishable by five years in prison, Trevor was living proof of his parents’ indiscretion. Kept mostly indoors for the earliest years of his life, Trevor faced extreme and often absurd measures to hide him from a government that could, at any moment, snatch him away. Liberated by the end of South Africa’s tyrannical white rule, Trevor and his mother embarked on a grand adventure, living openly and freely, embracing the opportunities won by a centuries-long struggle.
Born a Crime narrates the story of a mischievous young boy evolving into a restless young man, navigating a world where he was never meant to exist. It's also a tale of the young man’s bond with his fearless, rebellious, and fervently religious mother—a partnership determined to save him from the cycle of poverty, violence, and abuse that could threaten her own life.
The stories within are alternately hilarious, dramatic, and deeply moving. Whether enduring caterpillars for dinner during hard times, escaping an attempted kidnapping by being thrown from a moving car, or simply trying to survive the life-and-death challenges of high school dating, Trevor unveils his curious world with incisive wit and unflinching honesty. These stories interweave to create a poignant and uproariously funny portrait of a boy navigating a damaged world in a perilous time, armed only with a sharp sense of humor and a mother’s unconventional, unwavering love.