Born a Crime

Apartheid isn’t something that was well taught when I was in school.  I think it was too closely aligned with slavery for teachers in the American South to feel comfortable discussing with their integrated classrooms in the 80’s and 90’s.  I do remember some news around Mandela’s release, but no one ever really explained apartheid until I reached college.  And, even then, it was a quick mention in a chapter about South Africa in a World History course.  For Trevor Noah though, this was his entire world growing up.

Born A Crime is Noah’s memoir about growing up in South Africa including the fact that his birth was evidence of his parents’ crime: having interracial sexual relations.  This memoir documents the struggles his family faced in racing a biracial, or “colored” child in a world dictated by the color of one’s skin, but also some of the struggles the author created himself.  From challenges in school to run ins with law enforcement, Trevor Noah’s life was anything but easy.

I give Born a Crime 4 out of 5 stars.  Known for his comedy and stage presence, Noah’s writing carries his personality through and through.  He tackled some tough topics, including the attempted murder of his mother, with some humor and honesty.  However, there were times the writing lost me – it was wordy and recounted some stories that didn’t feel connected to the overall course of the book.  As with other books I’ve read this year, I enjoyed reading this book for the cultural information and history provided in the pages.

I would recommend this book for readers who are fans of the author.  However, I would direct this book towards more mature audiences given the discussions of violence, crime, and racial tensions.  I do think this is an important topic for learners to explore in their history and social studies courses.  If your high school or college class does not investigate apartheid or South African history, I would encourage you to add this book to your shelves.

I chose Born a Crime for the Booklist Queen Reading Challenge prompt “Recommended by a Librarian”.  This book has been in a display of great new books for several months and was the book club choice at our local library in February.  I can understand why our head librarian would have suggested this book given the racial tensions we have had locally and on a national scale.  I hope you will enjoy this book as much as me – it really opened my eyes to the struggles many South Africans have faced and continue to overcome.

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What I’m Reading

• Current print book: Spare, Prince Harry The Duke of Sussex
• Current audio book: The Personal Librarian, Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray
• Book I’m most looking forward to: Cold Snap, Mark Cameron