Book Review: Born a Crime by Trevor Noah (Spoiler-Free)
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There are so many books that are published every year in the world. From fiction to non-fiction, fantasy books, horror, comic books, graphic novels, and the list goes on and on. A lot of these books are not well known or just hidden gems. There are some books that come around that are critically acclaimed and don’t always live up to the hype, depending on who you ask of course. For myself, I haven’t read too many books in my adult life. It is something that I am trying to get better at because I have learned so much from the books that I have read. Even the ones that I did not necessarily like. One of the books that I finished some time earlier this year was a book by comedian, Daily Show host, and Thurber Prize winner Trevor Noah. The book is a memoir and an awesome retelling of his life.
From the beginning of the book, Trevor Noah puts you right into his adolescents. The book pretty much goes in chronological order except for some points of reminiscing about other things that he remembers throughout. One of the things that Trevor Noah has said about this book is that it is not only about how he grew up, it is also about his view of his mother's life. He claims it to be more of a testament about her strength as a mother than it is about himself. It surprises me how vulnerable and candid that he is when he is telling this story. His self-awareness is something that not a lot of people have and if they do have the self-awareness they are not as articulate about it as he is. From domestic abuse to bullying to meeting girls for the first time to the origin of his name, Trevor Noah talks about all of it in this book. It is really something that I think a lot of people can relate to in some capacity and something that I believe everyone should read.
The reason why I love this book so much is that it reminds me so much of myself and the way I try to understand myself. Now that I am in my late 20’s I find myself constantly looking back at my life and trying to figure out why I am the way that I am. As I was reading this book I could hear myself telling my own life story in this same manner. Of course, not everything that has happened to Trevor Noah has happened to me, but I can still understand his perspective of things and how he sees the world.
In conclusion, I would highly recommend this book to anyone that is out there looking to read a book about someone who is very self-aware of their own mistakes and consequences to those mistakes that are their own fault. Also, it is a good read for anyone who just wants to walk into someone elses shoes and see how they grew up.
