#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - The compelling, inspiring, and
comically sublime story of one man's coming-of-age, set during the
twilight of apartheid and the tumultuous days of freedom that followed
NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY
Michiko Kakutani, New York Times - Newsday - Esquire - NPR -
Booklist
Trevor Noah's unlikely path from apartheid South Africa to the desk of
The Daily Show began with a criminal act: his birth. Trevor was born
to a white Swiss father and a black Xhosa mother at a time when such a
union was punishable by five years in prison. Living proof of his
parents' indiscretion, Trevor was kept mostly indoors for the earliest
years of his life, bound by the extreme and often absurd measures his
mother took to hide him from a government that could, at any moment,
steal him away. Finally liberated by the end of South Africa's
tyrannical white rule, Trevor and his mother set forth on a grand
adventure, living openly and freely and embracing the opportunities won
by a centuries-long struggle.
Born a Crime is the story of a mischievous young boy who grows into a
restless young man as he struggles to find himself in a world where he
was never supposed to exist. It is also the story of that young man's
relationship with his fearless, rebellious, and fervently religious
mother--his teammate, a woman determined to save her son from the cycle
of poverty, violence, and abuse that would ultimately threaten her own
life.
The stories collected here are by turns hilarious, dramatic, and deeply
affecting. Whether subsisting on caterpillars for dinner during hard
times, being thrown from a moving car during an attempted kidnapping, or
just trying to survive the life-and-death pitfalls of dating in high
school, Trevor illuminates his curious world with an incisive wit and
unflinching honesty. His stories weave together to form a moving and
searingly funny portrait of a boy making his way through a damaged world
in a dangerous time, armed only with a keen sense of humor and a
mother's unconventional, unconditional love.
Praise for
Born a Crime
"[A] compelling new memoir . . . By turns alarming, sad and funny,
[Trevor Noah's] book provides a harrowing look, through the prism of
Mr. Noah's family, at life in South Africa under apartheid. . . . Born
a Crime is not just an unnerving account of growing up in South Africa
under apartheid, but a love letter to the author's remarkable
mother."--Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times
"[An] unforgettable memoir."
--
Parade
"What makes Born a Crime such a soul-nourishing pleasure, even with
all its darker edges and perilous turns, is reading Noah recount in
brisk, warmly conversational prose how he learned to negotiate his way
through the bullying and ostracism. . . . What also helped was having a
mother like Patricia Nombuyiselo Noah. . . . Consider Born a Crime
another such gift to her--and an enormous gift to the rest of
us."--USA Today
"[Noah] thrives with the help of his astonishingly fearless mother. .
. . Their fierce bond makes this story soar."--People
