Book Review: Born a Crime by Trevor Noah

I admit I have a celebrity crush on Trevor Noah. Not that I would hope to be one of those crazy screaming fans if I ever had the chance to meet him. But now that I have read his book it does make me appreciate him that much more beyond the charming sense of humor he evokes on the Daily Show. On the Daily Show he makes fun of Donald Trump but in the book he manages to bring humor amidst some very serious dire situations he's encountered in his own upbringing. And a man who doesn't take himself too seriously is a good thing.

Click here to buy the book Born a Crime 

There are people who are "street smart" and those who are "book smart." It's very evident that Trevor Noah acquired a lot of "street smart" intelligence with all the different ways he learned to make money from a young age (I do also respect someone who is resourceful like that).

At the same time, it was also very evident that his mother wanted to make sure he was educated to be "book smart" as well --- And be very loyal to religion as she was. I personally am not religious so my take on Jesus would probably be a bit more similar to Trevor Noah's but I certainly enjoyed the debates he had with his mother about God and loved how they were able to love each other regardless of their differences. I would also like to believe that regardless of what/who you believe in that there is something to be said about faith and the magic or miracles of life that sometimes seem to happen as it did in Trevor Noah's mother's life.

One of the things that fascinated me about this book was learning more about the history of South Africa. Most of us know of Nelson Mandela and the period of Apartheid ending on a superficial level. From reading the book, I learned that I too would have been classified under the same group as Trevor Noah in South Africa since the Japanese were classified as whites and the Chinese were classified as blacks. Never in my life have I ever thought of myself as half white and half black so that was quite the twist! Then again, I also would have never imagined the name Hitler being common anywhere in the world after World War II.

The chapter that had me laughing so hard it got me hooked on the book right away was chapter 3. Laughter is indeed good medicine and it felt so good to laugh like that. A great book and a delicious hot cup of tea is the perfect combination to curl up with on a rainy (or a non-rainy) day.

-M