Born a Crime
Stories from a South African Childhood
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Born a Crime
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Narrated by:
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Trevor Noah
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By:
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Trevor Noah
About this listen
Born a Crime is the deeply personal story of what has shaped Trevor Noah, South African comedian and host of the Daily Show. An astonishing memoir that details growing up in the midst of a crumbling apartheid, it illuminates his unique vantage point and how it prepared him for a life in the public eye. This is a sharply humorous, engaging and unforgettable record of Noah's life and at its heart, a love letter to his remarkable mother.
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 listeners 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 18 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 incisive wit and 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-listen.
©2016 Trevor Noah (P)2016 Audible Ltd.Listeners also enjoyed...
What listeners say about Born a Crime
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 08-05-23
Amazing use on credits
I didn’t expect to learn so much about life growing up in South Africa, and for it to be told in such a nuanced way with genuine humour throughout.Tragic, uplifting, engaging and of course amusing. Trevor takes you through a frankly unbelievable story, gently reflecting on cultures and society. extra credit $4 site audibledeals dot com I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this audible. It gave me a little insight into the life of black and coloured South Africans. Really recommend this book Trevor’s account of his life is funny, interesting and sad all at the same time!
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35 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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- AnnabelLT
- 22-08-18
Utterly incredible - read it!!
Last night I finished listening to the audiobook version of Trevor Noah’s autobiography, Born a Crime. I cannot urge you enough to listen to it.
This book is insanely funny and full of absurd moments that make you go ‘wait, I need to read that again… seriously??!’.
Set in apartheid South Africa and just beyond, this is a survival story in the realest sense. Noah’s not climbing Everest or trekking to the poles, but he and his friends and family face the day-to-day terror of a police state, abuse, discrimination, hunger, imprisonment, crime, shootings.
Noah doesn’t just talk about being poor, he makes you taste and smell and see it. From the stench of backed-up sewage to the disgusting squelch of a caterpillar bursting in your mouth when that’s all you can afford to eat.
His use of language – particularly in the audiobook version where each character is brought to life with their own accent and dialect – paints the story in such vivid colour.
He is honest not just about his actions, but his innermost thoughts. These musings put you in his shoes, forcing you to examine your own mind. How much would you pay to save your own mother’s life?, he makes you wonder. Thousands? Hundreds of thousands? Millions?
What resonated with me most from this book was the reminder of the importance of someone showing you what is possible from life. Had Noah only seen the confines of the walled ghettos his closest family were imprisoned in, his life today would be unimaginably different. But his mother empowers him to believe he can be something else, live somewhere different, feel, see, taste and experience an ‘other’.
You can’t be what you can’t see; that is why it is so important that we show people their potential.
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9 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Joseph McMahon
- 15-01-17
As funny as it is informative
If you're a fan of Trevor Noah then you'll really enjoy this. Has some serious accounts that are hard hitting as equally as it is funny. Well worth the listen.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Rika
- 21-10-20
WOW
What an amazing book. What an amazing man. I hope he writes more. His perspective and interpretations of the world, and his own life, are thought provoking and spot-on. I tend to listen almost exclusively to fiction but having come across one of his comedy sketches a few years ago and being very aware of apartheid as I was growing up as a first generation British child from an immigrant family, I was very interested in his experiences. I am blown away by this book. I will listen to it again, probably more than once. Buy it.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Handbagshoes
- 09-04-21
bloody brilliant
loved it. what a tour de force in regards to the insight of the apartheid regime and its awful policy of racial segregation. This book has entertained and horrified me at the same time. Couldn't believe it when the book finished. I need to know more about his mum. She should write her own autobiography.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Mr. S. Wagstaff
- 06-04-21
Political but not preachy
Never thought he'd replace Jon Stewart but he is just as thoughtful and intelligent. My life seems Incredibly easy in comparison.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Chidinma Ogbonnaya
- 13-04-21
Emotional
When I heard Trevor's voice, I was so pleased! I would hear his story from his mouth and all the names would be correctly pronounced. This was emotional, honest and funny. A wonderful roller coaster I did not want to alight from. Trevor has real depth and a heart! I love his Mum! You will love it.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- A. Getaz
- 15-04-21
Thoroughly worth a read
What a fascinating book. It is hilariously funny, tragically sad, profound and always interesting. Highly recommended.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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- Angela Williams
- 01-05-21
Colourful and crazy
I was surprised and shocked throughout this book. Great story telling from Noah. It casually highlights how recent the insanely prejudiced apartheid regime carried on until.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Anonymous User
- 09-05-21
The best audiobook I've ever listened to
Trevor Noah is fantastic. This book is brilliant in its own right, but his performance really elevates it to the next level. I have probably listened to the book 5 times now. Perfect for if you forget about audiobooks for a while and then want to jump back in - the chapters stand alone quite well.
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