Hello Ishyapluma readers,
As I have told you on Mondays, it will be a review day. Today the book I will be reviewing is BORN A CRIME BY TREVOR NOAH. I didn’t think I would start with this book but I did. Probably because I finished reading the book yesterday and It is still fresh in my mind. Trevor Noah is a comedian from South Africa, he has been famous as a host of The Daily Show on Comedy Central. If you follow his show you know how funny he is, now imagine how hilarious is the book he wrote himself! The book is actually a memoir written in 2016, he talks of his childhood stories back in south Africa. The thing I loved most about the book is that even though it was a bitter life full of racism, abuse and fear, he did find a way of narrating it in a humorous and jocular manner. As result, What was meant to be a sad story turned into a comedy book. Main ideas of the book: 1.Growing up colored in apartheid south Africa: Apartheid (“apartness” in the language of Afrikaans) was a system of legislation that upheld segregationist policies against non-white citizens of South Africa. from 1948 until the early 1990s. Apartheid racism was specific, they divided the races into 3: white, black and colored(mixed). Being colored was a big deal, because it meant that a black and a white had a relationship and it was illegal, it was punished by the law. Trevor Noah was colored : born from a native South African mother and a white German Swiss father, he was a product of a crime. In his own words he wrote “Where most of the children are product of their parents' love, I was the proof of their criminality” Growing up he didn’t feel like he belonged to any group, he wasn’t welcomed in black kids group nor in white kids group. He describes himself as an outsider. Even though he couldn’t belong to their groups, he hanged out with them either black or white and they ended up liking him because he was funny and he had many jokes. 2. Power of languages: In South Africa more than 10 languages are spoken all over the country, every tribe has its own language. Trevor spoke 6 languages, as he couldn’t be easily accepted in the black community he learned different languages. Every time he spoke to someone in his native language, he directly gained his trust. “if somebody speaks like you, you feel they are like you” Trevor used languages to play both sides against the middle, he was a chameleon(that’s how he calls himself). Here is one of the funny stories on languages in this book: His grandmother always asked him to pray in English, because she thought God speaks English and English prayers are heard before her prayers which were in their traditional languages. When it was an emergency prayer Trevor had to pray in English. 3. Trevor’s Mom is the hero of the story: Patricia, Trevor’s mom is my favorite person in the whole story. Sorry Trevor, I know it’s your story but your mom...😉! Patricia was this kind of woman who wasn’t afraid of anything. She wasn’t afraid to date a white man in a racist environment. She wasn’t afraid to raise a colored child knowing she couldn’t walk with him through her black neighborhood without people saying, “There goes that prostitute with a white man’s child.” Patricia was brutally honest. This is how she talks to his son : “I chose to have you because I wanted something to love and something that would love me unconditionally in return—and then I gave birth to the most selfish piece of shit on earth and all it ever did was cry and eat and shit and say, ‘Me, me, me, me me.’ ” 😂 she had a dry sense of humor. She taught her son to always challenge her (something African parents never allow ). Trevor describes their relationship as a Tom and Jerry thing but after all they loved each other enormously and they weren’t just a family but a team. Mom and son against the rest of the world. 4. Spirituality: In the book Trevor criticizes different religions and belief, including the faith of her mother. Patricia was an earnest Christian. when Trevor was a kid, they used to go to three churches on Sunday. yes, three different churches because she believed every church gave her something different.Trevor didn’t like it because it was tiring. He always asked her mother why Jesus couldn’t come to their home instead of them going to church. Based on the book you can't tell if Trevor believes in God or not. "Born a crime" is a very entertaining book. you never get bored from first page up to the last page. if you want to laugh and learn more about Trevor Noah's childhood then this is the right book to read.
20 Comments
Patrick
5/4/2020 07:02:05
Amazing work
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mimi
5/4/2020 07:57:20
c'est impressionnant😍 I wish i could read this book too..keep it up
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Eve
5/4/2020 09:33:31
Where can I get this book?
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Ishyapluma
5/4/2020 09:59:48
You can download it on https://www.pdfdrive.com. or inbox me, I will share you a soft copy.
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Lydia
5/4/2020 09:38:38
Emotional history😢, #keep it up my girl!!
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Sammy
5/4/2020 11:39:38
Very interesting! Thanks a lot!
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J. Eric
5/4/2020 12:47:42
Woooowww....this is an amazing review you have done. I had an audio version of this book recorded by Trevor himself. The truth to be said, if you have enjoyed the written version, the audio will be more fascinating ( it sounds like all other comedies of Noah).
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Anne
5/4/2020 13:18:09
Woow!! This review made me want to read the book. I think i will try the audio version. From what i read in the review this book is very entertaining, thanks for sharing this with us.
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Sakina
5/4/2020 15:45:20
Woow, I so loved the way you reviewed this Book and can't wait for the next one! Keep up u on the right track
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Cyusa
5/4/2020 15:45:25
Yeap it's a great and hilarious book....my favorite part is where his mom (Patricia) was beating him and Trevor run in the neighborhood then his mom started shouting : " thief , Thief , Thief, catch that thief 😂😂 " and everyone would start chasing him as a Thief.
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Gracia
5/4/2020 23:54:31
Well done Denyse! It is well summarized and on point. Keep up the good work!
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SANDRINE
5/5/2020 11:37:29
Veryy good review of the book keep it up girl👌😍
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Gami
5/5/2020 12:14:29
It's the most hilarious book I have ever read. You reminded me of it; a book full of touching, honest, funny, and relatable stories. Thanks for this well written review.
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Mususa
5/5/2020 12:25:26
Nice job Ineza....coincidentally, that's the book I am reading now and your review fits well that book's passage and and they way Trevor managed to make this story so funny that's what makes the book special!
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A
5/7/2020 02:10:15
Wow this is amazingly awesome..... can u do a review for "After" ✌
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Hasingizwe Jr.
5/7/2020 09:18:46
Waoo!
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Tanzim Ikram Sheikh
5/20/2020 00:52:55
I wanna read this book too!
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Who's behind the blogHello I am Denyse INEZA
My blog's name "ishyapluma" is made of two words ishya and pluma. Ishya from my mother tongue(kinyarwanda)means prosperity and pluma is a Spanish word for pen. Being very introverted, I started blogging because I was so inside my head and I needed a way to get out of it. later on it became a way of reaching out to my audience. I now write to influence, to inspire and to give hope for a prosperous future to me as well as to everyone reading this blog. I write to heal. Welcome to Ishyapluma! Contact: +250784266072 Archives
June 2021
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