Looking for your next read? Let me introduce ‘Born a Crime’ by Trevor Noah. I have first known and liked him as the host of ‘The daily show’, in which he uses humor to dissect complex issues, turning them digestible for general audiences. And when I discovered this book, it was a no-brainer for me to pick it up and surely, it delivered. The book comprises 18 stories, following Trevor throughout his childhood to young adult life living in South Africa, where Apartheid’s shadow still lurking in every corner of the country. However, despite such glooming canvas, you will be treated with great comedy. This journey has its twist and turn, you will laugh, you might fight the tears, still, you will be entertained all the while since it is Trevor Noah’s show and when you reach the last page, a smile will shine on your face and a new empathy will grow for the people half way across the map from you. I hope this is enough to hook you to the book, but if anyone need more convincing, here are some elaboration.
What make this book a great comedy show? Reading each story feels like watching a stand-up episode on Netflix without the ‘laugh track’. Acting as our narrator, Trevor unleashes his whole arsenal of comedic techniques. Let’s begin with a fundamental skill, the storytelling. Every writer’s goal is to make readers care about what is written on cold, emotionless paper and to achieve just that, the author chose to use his own story as material. The authentic South Africa experiences, genuine thought and feeling would captivate your whole attention right from the first page. When he has your attention, the dynamic of each story will keep you engaging. You will be served action packed scene where the protagonist is flung out of a running bus, pick himself up and run away from danger; or family drama with daily quarrels, touching reunion with a long absented father; or facing off with the law in thrilling manners; etc. You will never get bored. And, the cherry on top is that there will always be room for your own reflection on every piece. There will not be a ‘The moral of the story is that…’ What is a comedian without the joke? A politician? Anyway, for a joke to do its job, timing is key. If the punch-line appears too soon, there is not enough momentum and the joke becomes stale; or if it is the opposite, you lose the moment and the joke becomes dull. The ability to pin point the exact moment to deliver that one line and win over the crowd is not just a spark of genius, but it does helps, it requires field experiences. In this case, winning an Emmy award, 14 years building a career in stand-up and many other achievements can guarantee you a master class when it comes to ignite a laugh. As I have mentioned, the materials for this book come directly from early life of Trevor Noah himself, and that life was like a TV in the six-seventies, only come in black and white. Yes, I am talking about racism where the color of your skin determines your fate. I will dwell more on that later, but you can guess, back then, life is no colorful. Wait! That is not the impression you could get while reading this book, South Africa then was harsh, but the country still possessed a vibrant, and gaily outlook. We have our main character to thank for that. With his keen sense of humor, a barren portrait gradually gains color. If there is only one thing to take from the book, I hope this is it.
The interesting life of Trevor Noah Being a comedian is all fun and cool, but what set Trevor up from his peers is his unique, interesting life story. That story opened up with the word: Apartheid. So what is Apartheid? ‘Apartheid was a police state, a system of surveillance and laws designed to keep black people under total control’. Under Apartheid, the segregation of white and black was enforced by the law, which meant Trevor Noah, whose mother was a Xhosa, and father was a Swiss, was an illegal child, hence, the title of the book. This caused all sort of troubles in his childhood when he could not be seen with his father on the street or his mother had to pose as his maid to avoid inquiring eyes. The gap between black and white grew even larger as he aged and went to ‘bantu school’ for black children where the education prepare you for your future careers: farming and mining for boys and serving as maid for girls; ‘Why teach a monkey’ as they said. Furthermore, he was treated as black by the authority but the black community would not accept him, so he could be neither black nor white, just a lonely mixed child. Despite all that, the kid Trevor was full of energy, even mischievous, full of wonder, cause he had a teammate that pull him up ahead in those turmoil time, his mother. Meet Patricia Noah, mother of Trevor Noah and the backbone of his life. She decided to have a child with a white man even though she knew full well of the consequences. Then, alone she raised him and prepared him for a future no one could realize at that time. From his early age, she could read book for him, tried to acquire for him every book she could lay hand on, took him to churches, the white one, switching to a better neighborhood, purchased a car to go to white people’s places, etc. all that to show her child a world of possibilities. And when the tide of history turned, they came prepared to reap the fruit of their labor. In 1990, the release of Nelson Mandela signified the end of Apartheid, and brought with it changes to the whole nation. The opportunities were share between black and white people and the crime record which was his chocolate skin had been revoked. Still, the struggle to happiness still ongoing for such a deep wound could not heal in a day, but you would like to read it for yourself. Hope you a good read! We will meet again with another book.
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