Born a Crime (2016)
Born a Crime is a 2016 apartheid book written by Trevor Noah.
Trevor Noah was born to a Black Xhosa mother and a white Swiss father in apartheid South Africa, where their relationship itself was a crime. He spent his early childhood as living evidence of it, kept indoors, shuttled between languages and townships. These linked stories run from stolen-CD hustles to a leap from a moving minibus, all anchored by his mother Patricia, a fierce, funny, devoutly religious woman set on saving her son from poverty and violence. The comedian writes with sharp wit and hard clarity about race, family, and a system built to keep people apart. Warm, brutal, and very funny.
Quick answers
What is Born a Crime about?
Trevor Noah was born to a Black Xhosa mother and a white Swiss father in apartheid South Africa, where their relationship itself was a crime. He spent his early childhood as living evidence of it, kept indoors, shuttled between languages and townships. These linked stories run from stolen-CD hustles to a leap from a moving minibus, all anchored by his mother Patricia, a fierce, funny, devoutly religious woman set on saving her son from poverty and violence. The comedian writes with sharp wit and hard clarity about race, family, and a system built to keep people apart. Warm, brutal, and very funny.
When was Born a Crime published?
Born a Crime was published in 2016.
Who made Born a Crime?
Born a Crime was written by Trevor Noah.
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A few thoughts on Born a Crime
Fans of Born a Crime should watch Tsotsi, the Oscar-winning South African film about a young Johannesburg gangster, for the same textured view of township life. Trevor Noah's own years hosting The Daily Show extend his voice on race and politics into nightly satire. Paul Simon's album Graceland, recorded with South African musicians, channels the same country's rhythm and defiance.
Comedians who turn their hardest years into their sharpest work
Born a Crime turns Trevor Noah's childhood in apartheid South Africa into material that is funny because it never flinches on race, poverty and his mother's fierce will to survive. Bossypants and Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe do the same from very different lives, Biloxi Blues mines a hard coming of age for the same laughs, and The Daily Show is where that voice landed.