Trevor Noah
Trevor Noah has always cracked me up, so when I learned he had a memoir, I had to read it. For those who don’t know, Trevor Noah is a comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, actor, and television host. He is most well known for his political and satirical commentary, so when I was reading his memoir, Born a Crime, that was what I expected, and I was definitely not disappointed. To be honest, I also learned a lot more about South Africa than I expected.
Background
Noah was born and raised in South Africa during Apartheid, a legal system of institutionalized racial segregation and discrimination. In a system that grouped people as Black, White, and Colored, he had the unique perspective of belonging to none of them. Noah was raised by a Black mother, but was a lighter-skinned colored individual, so although he felt Black, he never quite fit anywhere, so he watched – a lot. Just by sitting on the outskirts and watching, he learned many languages and how to read people. These abilities were the foundation for his success as a personality and writer.
Born a Crime
That being said, the main takeaway of his book isn’t about his life; it’s about the impacts of apartheid on pre- and post-Apartheid South Africa. He went into detail about how someone’s color became their identity and how people were limited because of what they looked like. Although he definitely talked about some pretty harsh realities, he uses his humor to cushion them, not to make them easier to digest, but to help make them more relatable to his American audience. As an American, I felt like I had an inside scoop and a topic I knew nothing about before. As someone who didn’t know anything about this topic, I felt I understood a good amount and stayed entertained throughout the book.
Overall, I would give this book 5 stars, and I highly recommend it. Besides being a fun read, it sheds light on global injustice while offering lessons in humanity we can all learn from. Highly recommended.