Born A Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood

Product description

WINNER OF THE THURBER PRIZE

The compelling, inspiring, (often comic) coming-of-age story of Trevor Noah, set during the twilight of apartheid and the tumultuous days of freedom that followed.

One of the comedy world's brightest new voices, Trevor Noah is a light-footed but sharp-minded observer of the absurdities of politics, race and identity, sharing jokes and insights drawn from the wealth of experience acquired in his relatively young life. As host of the US hit show The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, he provides viewers around the globe with their nightly dose of biting satire, but here Noah turns his focus inward, giving readers a deeply personal, heartfelt and humorous look at the world that shaped him.

Noah was born a crime, son of a white Swiss father and a black Xhosa mother, at a time when such a union was punishable by five years in prison. Living proof of his parents' indiscretion, Trevor was kept mostly indoors for the first years of his life, bound by the extreme and often absurd measures his mother took to hide him from a government that could, at any moment, take him away.

A collection of eighteen personal stories, Born a Crime tells the story of a mischievous young boy growing into a restless young man as he struggles to find his place in a world where he was never supposed to exist. Born a Crime is equally the story of that young man's fearless, rebellious and fervently religious mother - a woman determined to save her son from the cycle of poverty, violence and abuse that ultimately threatens her own life.

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, Noah illuminates his curious world with an incisive wit and an unflinching honesty. His stories weave together to form a personal portrait of an unlikely childhood in a dangerous time, as moving and unforgettable as the very best memoirs and as funny as Noah's own hilarious stand-up. Born a Crime is a must read.

Review

An engaging, fast-paced and vivid read . . . Essential reading not only because it is a personal story of survival, leavened with insight and wit, but because it does more to expose apartheid - its legacy, its pettiness, its small-minded stupidity and its damage - than any other recent history book or academic text (GUARDIAN)

It's no surprise that Trevor Noah, the slyly suave successor to Jon Stewart as host of The Daily Show, should write a smart book. But 'smart' doesn't begin to cover what he pulls off in Born a Crime . . . Noah's memoir is extraordinary . . . essential reading on every level. It's hard to imagine anyone else doing a finer job of it (SEATTLE TIMES)

Powerful... The story of his life is full of chase scenes in which he runs, hell for leather, from spankings, from the long arm of the law, and from the swinging fist of his stepfather... a unique perspective (THE TIMES)

A soul-nourishing pleasure, even with all its darker edges and perilous turns, reading Noah recount in brisk, warmly conversational prose how he learned to negotiate his way through the bullying and ostracism . . . is an enormous gift (USA TODAY)

A BOOK TO READ NOW (WALL STREET JOURNAL)

A memoir with heft... The interracial coupling that produced him really was a crime, making him an outsider. But he thrives with the help of his astonishingly fearless mother. (At one point she tosses him from a moving car -- driven by gangsters -- to save his life.) However brutal South African history is, their fierce bond makes this story soar (PEOPLE, Best New Books)

Noah has a real story to tell -- and tells it well... A little scary, but trust me -- it's funny (NEWSDAY)

An affecting memoir. . . a love letter to his mother (WASHINGTON POST)

Mind-blowing as f*** (COSMOPOLITAN)

Noah proves a gifted storyteller, deftly lacing his poignant tales with amusing irony (ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY)

A BOOK TO READ NOW, WALL STREET JOURNAL

'Powerful, charming and clever' THE TIMES

'Witty and brilliant' O: THE OPRAH MAGAZINE

'A memoir with heft . . . this story soars' PEOPLE, Best New Books

'Moving stories that will leave you laughing' BILL GATES

'Raw, compelling and by turns alarming, sad, and funny. . .' NEW YORK TIMES

'A soul-nourishing pleasure' USA TODAY

'A remarkable memoir leavened with insight and wit, Born a Crime does more to expose apartheid - its legacy, its pettiness, its small-minded stupidity and its damage - than any other recent history or academic text' GUARDIAN

www.johnmurray.co.uk www.trevornoah.com
@johnmurrays @trevornoah #BornaCrime

About the Author

Born under apartheid to a black South African mother and a white European father, Trevor Noah's improbable rise to stardom led to his sold-out one-man show at the 2012 Edinburgh Fringe Festival that became one of the most talked-about shows at the festival that year. He has appeared on QI, 8 Out of 10 Cats, The Royal Variety Performance and Live at the Apollo. In 2015 Noah succeeded Jon Stewart as host of The Daily Show.

Product details

Format Paperback | 304 pages
Dimensions 135 x 199 x 20mm | 218g
Publication date 21 Sep 2017
Publisher Hodder & Stoughton General Division
Imprint John Murray Publishers Ltd
Publication City/Country London, United Kingdom
Language English
ISBN10 1473635306
ISBN13 9781473635302