BORN A CRIME BY TREVOR NOAH - REVIEW

If you have been bypassing this book in the bookshops because you think it's one of those shallow, lack of depth books most times written by a celebrity, you are in for a shocker - a positive one. Just do yourself a favour and moonwalk back to that aisle and pick up this book, It is worth it.
                          
Trevor Noah is not only a brilliant and witty comedian, he is also a brilliant writer.  He has a way of drawing you into his world and making you yearn for more of his stories as he serves the pre-ambles as a bait. In the first chapter of the Book - Run. He shared a scary story about how his mum threw him out of a moving car in a successful attempt to save his life. Before he got to the story, he shared some preambles and I like to think of them as baits. These preambles helped readers understand the background behind the story. I almost heard myself screaming in my head arrrrrrrggghhh!!!, get to the part already! and he did. At the end of the chapter I was in awe and admiration of the beautiful friendship and genuine love between  mother and son.
A woman he describes as his first fan. This book is an awesome tribute to the phenomenal woman that gave birth to him.
"For my mother. My first fan. Thank you for making me a man".

Trevor Noah was born in apartheid South Africa and because his dad is a white and his mum black, based on the laws of the land, he was "Born a Crime"

He went through phases where he had to be hidden at home and most times his mum would dress up as a maid to be able to go out with him.

"I didn't have any friends. I didn't know any kids besides my cousins. I wasn't a lonely kid - I was good at being alone. I'd read books, play with the toy that I had, make up imaginary worlds. I lived inside my head. To this day you can leave me alone for hours and I'm perfectly happy entertaining myself. I have to remember to be with people".

He experienced the privilege of being a white man in a black community as he was mostly given preferential treatment. His grandmother found it difficult to beat him as she would his cousins and this was largely due to the colour of his skin.

"A black child, I understand. A black child, you hit them and they stay black. Trevor, when you hit him he turns blue and green and yellow and red. I've never seen those colour before. I'm scared I'm going to break him. I don't want to kill a white person. I'm so afraid. I'm not going to touch him". And she never did"

Trevor Noah is well qualified to talk about racism both from a privilege and oppressed point of view as he has experienced both during the apartheid years of South Africa.

Every Truth of his shared in this book is laced with humour and we get to marvel at not only how brilliant Trevor is as a comedian but also as a writer.

Trevor Noah's life is an apt description of a person who rose from the very bottom of the ladder to the very top. He rose from being a South African township boy to the anchor of one of the biggest shows in the world. As a black South African the odds of being successful was against him. The difference between him and other black kids he grew up with, is his mother. He described her as being rebellious, I think she is a great non-conformist.

"My mom raised me as if there were no limitation on where I could go or what I could do. When I look back I realize she raised me like a white kid - not white culturally, but in the sense of believing that the world was my oyster, that I should speak up for myself, that my ideas and thoughts mattered"

She taught him to be open minded and to question authority. Of course she was not always thrilled when he questioned her authority but unlike most moms she answered his questions to a large extent and sometimes she just says the word Sun'qhela, and that signifies the end of their argument or discussion.
They even devised a means of communication, that allowed both of them opportunity to argue their sides without interruptions. This was especially advantageous for Trevor's Mum as Trevor was quick on his feet with counter arguments. They wrote letters to one another while living in the same house......
Her rebellious nature enabled her and Trevor to thrive in the hostile community they lived in.

He learnt from a very young age that language had a way of connecting people to one another.

"I soon learned that the quickest way to bridge the race gap was through language. Soweto was a melting pot: families from different cultural groups, and thus different homelands. Most kids in township spoke only their home language, but I learned several languages because I grew up in a house where there was no option but to learn them."

Born a Crime is collection of beautifully written stories and a great page-turner. I also think that everyone will one way or the other find a connection with some or just one of the stories.

Who chooses to go to jail instead of facing his mum?
Who goes to a Jewish school to perform and ends his performance with asking the audience to give it up for Hitler?
Who unwillingly goes to church every Sunday morning and does not get home till late at night?
Who takes a whole year to plan for a prom and a date and both end in disaster?
Who was up to mischief and joined other people in looking for the culprit?

Typically, I find it difficult reading books on domestic violence and racism and I must say Born a Crime falls right into that category. On this occasion though, it was not difficult for me to read at all and this is no small measure due to the brilliance of Trevor Noah's writing skill.

Who writes about shit and makes it sound like you are listening to Oprah on one of her super soul sunday session?
Who writes about racism and apartheid in an intriguing yet funny way?
Who writes about his experience in a South African jail in such witty and funny way?

He wrote about his early childhood years, his troubled years in high school- he was unable to fit in with the white kids or mixed race kids like himself, he found solace with other black kids. He wrote about his brief time in jail and his years as a hustler selling pirated CDs and Djing at parties.

He also wrote about his mum's marriage to his step dad and the abuse they both had to endure in the hands of his step dad. The last chapter of the book shed more light on this and I must say that was the part that almost moved me to tears. His mum was failed by the Police and Society. She had to do what was right for herself and children and it almost cost her life.
For the first time while reading the book I sensed Trevor's fear at the thought of losing his mum but mercy said NO!
He was unable to wrap his head around why his mum didn't die. His mum believed God saved her. The doctors said it was a miracle. Even on her hospital bed, they were still able to laugh and bond like the team that they had always been.

This is a compelling book that takes you through the life and experiences of a black person during the apartheid years and mostly after. It can be described as funny, tragic and at the same time have you screaming "Oh dear!! What the hell have you done"?
Every story shared by Trevor in this book, no matter how funny and they aren't all, reiterate the fact that race is a determining factor on all issues in South Africa.
This book is for you, if you are interested in Race, Domestic Violence and the before and After years of Apartheid.