One of my favorite books is Born A Crime, which my friend gave me as a birthday gift last year. This book is a biography of Trevor Noah — a comedian and the Daily Show’s host. I didn’t follow this guy or his show so I thought it would be just a normal book, but it turned out that I was wrong. In South Africa in 1984, under the apartheid legislation, it was illegal for a white man and a black woman to have sex. Therefore, when his mom gave birth to him, Trevor was considered a crime. That explains the book’s title, which is a bit shocking yet easy to grab readers’ attention.
Because of that crime, his childhood was a series of hiding from other people who were not his relatives or pretending that he was just a boy-next-door, not someone in the family. The interesting point was that he was raised solely by his mom as she and his dad couldn’t live together due to the law at that time. Therefore, it was fascinating reading about him and his cousins playing all day behind the fence. They were so playful that one time, they almost burned down the whole house.
In my opinion, Trevor Noah is an interesting guy, and so is his childhood. However, what made me like this book so much was his mom, who is an amazing woman. Going to school or getting an office job was something impossible for a Xhosa woman like her. Nevertheless, she managed to study English and get a secretary job in Johannesburg, where she met his father and gave birth to little Trevor. I was also amazed by her devotion and determination. There was a period of time when every Sunday, she took Trevor and his little brother to three different churches which were very far from each other. They had to wake up early, spend the whole day on the packed bus, and walk a very long distance to go to the churches. I think it was her determination that had a very important impact on Trevor Noah’s personality.
I still remember I was reading the end and also the most thrilling part of the book when I had to go out for a dinner with my friends. And because I wanted to continue reading so badly, that I downloaded the audio version of the book and listened to it when I was on a motor taxi. So it was the scene of Trevor’s stepfather shooting his mom with a gun. The bullet went straight to her head. I was so mad — why did that wonderful woman have to suffer so much from his violence. Both she and Trevor were abused for a very long time and even when she decided to divorce him, she still couldn’t get away. I was so overwhelmed with joy when I went to the page saying that she was fine after the surgery. Miraculously, the bullet went through the base of her head, avoiding all major nerves and blood vessels, then exiting through her nostril. She deserves a long and happy life after doing so many great things for her son, her family and even the ex-husband.
Overall, this book gave me pleasure. I understand more about the apartheid in South Africa, the culture there, as well as the typical life of a local family, which I never knew about before. I also re-read the book while listening to the audio, and it was one of my best reading experiences ever. The voice in the audiobook is Trevor’s, so, it was like listening to his own story directly from him, clearly and vividly. And last but not least, I can add one more heroic woman to the list of the most inspiring women in the world that I know.
