Book Bearings
Cover of Born a Crime by Trevor Noah

Born a Crime

Trevor Noah

  • 304 pages · about 5 hours
  • First published 2016
  • 27 editions
Buy on Bookshop.orgView on Open Library

Bookshop.org links may earn us a commission. It supports independent bookstores and costs you nothing.

1 About this book

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.

  • Humor
  • Personal Memoirs
  • Biography & autobiography
  • Essays
  • Biography
  • Comedians, biography
  • History
  • Apartheid

2 What to expect

A memoir in linked stories about growing up in South Africa as the son of a Black mother and a white father, a relationship that was illegal under apartheid when he was born. Noah is a comedian, and the stories of poverty, mischief, school and church are very funny, while showing plainly how racial rules shaped daily life. At its center is his fearless, devout mother, and violence at home is part of the story.

Good for readers who want: a funny memoir, apartheid seen through a child's eyes, and a mother-and-son story.

3 About Trevor Noah

Born 1984

Trevor Noah (born 20 February 1984) is a South African comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, and television host. He was the host of The Daily Show, an American late-night talk show and satirical news program on Comedy Central, from 2015 to 2022. Noah has won various awards, including two Primetime Emmy Awards. He was named one of "The 35 Most Powerful People in New York Media" by The Hollywood Reporter in 2017 and 2018.

Bio adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

4 Similar books

Find a book that fits your moment