Trevor Noah: Born a Crime is an autobiography of Trevor Noah, the host of The Daily Show, traversing South Africa’s apartheid as an adolescent. The story is moving, inspiring, and entertaining, with many “Holy Shit” moments. 

I’ve read many books, but rarely when I’m reading do I say out loud: “Are you serious?”, “That really happened?”, “What’s wrong with those people?”, or “Holy Shit!”. With this book, it happened in almost every chapter.

My favorite moments from the book (warning spoilers ahead): 

  • Fearing for their lives, Trevor’s mom pushes him from a moving car and jumps herself. After hailing a minibus (a taxi), the minibus driver took Trevor and his mom opposite their destination and refused to stop. Trevor’s mom feared the driver was planning to kill them because she and Trevor were from a different tribe.
  • To oppress the South African tribes, the whites segregate them into townships and only taught the tribe’s native tongue, basic math, and necessary communication skills. Teaching anything else was illegal, including teaching the 5 or 6 dominant languages of South Africa. The tribes were unable to communicate, which kept them isolated and divided. At the time, whites made up roughly 10% of the population.
  • Most non-whites had two names: a tribal name and a “white” name. Since the schools didn’t teach history to non-whites, non-whites weren’t aware of names with historical significance. Trevor, in his late teens, became a local DJ. He and his friends choreographed a dance routine for their gigs to amp up the crowd. Their best dancer, named Hitler, would perform a solo act. Trevor and his crew cheered him on by chanting, “Go Hitler!, Go Hitler!” The dance routine was a huge hit, and the crowd would often chant along with Trevor. That was until they performed at a Jewish graduation. When the dance routine started, Trevor’s crew began chanting, “Go Hitler!, Go Hitler!” All the Jewish students stopped dancing and glared. Being clueless, Trevor continued playing the music and cheering on Hitler. Trevor and his crew were promptly escorted out of the building. 
  • Trevor’s first crush was Zaheera. She was shy and the most beautiful girl at the school. Trevor and Zaheera talked and laughed; you’d always find them together. Trevor promised himself to ask Zaheera out to their Senior prom — in three years. He eventually worked up the courage to ask for her phone number and was shocked when she gave it to him. He called her that night. They’d talk on the phone for hours. After a holiday break, Zaheera didn’t return to school. Eventually, Trevor asks Zaheera’s best friend what happen to Zaheera. She tells him Zaheera emigrated to the US. The best friend also tells Trevor that Zaheera really liked him and had waited over a year for Trevor to ask her out.

Fortunately, I was born in the United States, and racism and oppression are foreign to me, but after reading this book, I feel I’ve tasted both. 

I was worried that Trevor, being a comedian, might dilute the apartheid with humor. But, on the contrary, his writing gives the world a peephole into South Africa under the apartheid. 

Trevor imparts wisdom and insights throughout the book. He discusses how South Africa modeled their racism after Nazi Germany and the United States of America. Trevor talks about poverty and famine and makes the correlation to crime. Trevor argues that a family starving doesn’t care where the food came from, only that they have food.

Trevor Noah: Born a Crimeย is by far one of, if not the top books I’ve read this year.

I highly recommend Trevor Noah: Born a Crime to anyone who wants to read a moving, inspiring, and entertaining story.