Read of the Week

Born A Crime

Trevor Noah

Pan Macmillan

Review: Marsha Leitch

Talk about a renowned comedian, Trevor Noah has been through some real stuff, just the same as any other person.

We might have thought his fame came easy but it came at a price with hard work, sharp wit and a lot of laughter and that’s what this book is about.

It has been adapted for younger readers from Born a Crime and other stories to give them an inside look into his life, but on their level.

Trevor Noah grew up in South Africa with a black mother and a white Swiss father at the time when it was against the law for a mixed-race child to exist. He also speaks about being a mischievous child and a sharp-witted young adult, who is constantly caught between being too white, too black or not coloured enough.

He takes you on a journey in his close relationship with his mother and the brief one with his father.

He pays ode to her too, in letting people in on her life and raising Trevor as a single parent.

This page-turner will have you smiling to yourself at every page. The book is conversational and makes you feel like you’re sitting and listening to Trevor talk to you about his life.

It gave me a little more insight on what a coloured person living during apartheid went through, having a black mother and a white father.

The questions Trevor asks as a little boy, makes you think about the privilege you possess in the space you are in and how you either use it to your advantage or disadvantage.

This book was not what I expected and there were times when I questioned whether some stories were true or not, as they were told in a fantastical way, but I would definitely recommend it.