It was electric. The eight ersatz Zulu warriors congregated virtually just outside Soweto. They learned that Trevor Noah was born in 1984, and is just 36 yrs of age today.
The Amended Immorality Act of 1985 related to his mother's marriage and thus his birth. In 2011, he relocated to the United States, and in December 2014 he was contributing to The Daily Show on Comedy Central (cable TV). He is currently under a 5 yr (until 2022) extension contract on The Daily Show. He wrote this book in 2016, and in 2018, his second book was The Donald J. Trump Presidential Twitter Library. The electronic attendees had much to say:
Jack: I enjoyed the book, learned a lot about Trevor Noah and Apartheid as viewed from his perspective. I enjoyed his stories, but as Karl said, it was a collection of his stories, rather than a chronological coming-of-age bio. I had some trouble with his bouncing around from 9 yrs old then 15 then 9. A-
Kenny G: I agree with the comments we've heard. Fascinating, with how close he came to being thrown in jail; I learned a lot. A-
Charlie: I enjoyed it for the reasons mentioned. A- Made me more sensitive to Apartheid. The author is a very clever fellow who describes a dismal life as funny. I would recommend it.
Karl: A very worthwhile read. The book – a collection of short stories, really – is well-written, well laid-out,
logical in its order -- which is more or less chronological, and completely interesting. When Amazon
delivered my copy, I was in the middle of another book. I opened the package and started to look
through the book. Thirty pages later, I realized that I had gotten sucked into it immediately. Then I
alternated between the two books until I’d finished the first one.
Born a Crime tells a story of a South African growing up during the end of Apartheid from the
perspective of someone of mixed race. What impressed me most about the book is that the stories are
told without a shred of bitterness. Given the circumstances and conditions at the time, that seems
remarkable to me. I’d never heard of the author, nor had I read any of the book reviews before I
finished the book, so I had no preconceptions. (I’ve since looked him up on You Tube and read the
blurbs.)
I came away with at least partial understanding of the South African situation that prior to reading the
book had been completely unknown to me other than at the most aggregate level. I have tremendous
respect for Noah’s mother. What an amazing woman. For the author himself, I have a less positive
opinion, though still a favorable one, though I freely admit that I am seeing him as an old, white,
American that has never been oppressed in any way, not as someone who has lived through what he
has.
Without hesitation, I’d recommend this book. A-
Bob Simon: Also an A- I noticed re "right from wrong" their tribal conflicts in South Africa. It can label you as an enemy of a tribal group when he interacted with, say Zulu. A wonderful book - I would recommend it.
Mike: This was a love story to the author's mother. As I am writing my book of family stories, I was interested in how he introduced each collection of stories with a segment in a different font, and in boldface. My final grade is an A-, which shows the influence of my colleagues here: Having watched the first few Trevor Noah shows following the departure of Jon Steward on The Daily Show, I had preconceptions before I read the book. I had come to this virtual meeting with a solid B+ but I am convinced by the segments discussed that it was better than that.
Bob Woods: I will follow the herd: A- He captured what Life was like for him, but the book was almost too polished. His English and his grammar were very Western.
Ron B: A lot of information, I liked the book. A
He virtually existed for only 15 minutes, but he left his imprint:
I had heard about Born a Crime by Trevor Noah several times. I always thought it would be interesting to read but I never
did. So, I was pleased when Ron chose the book as the book for April.
I enjoyed reading the book a lot. It is an interesting story about an interesting individual growing up in South Africa. I have
read quite a bit about South Africa over the years and am always interested in learning more. Noah's book gave me
insight into the life of a colored person growing up in South Africa.
The book is full of interesting stories that were told in
an interesting manner. The book is quite well written.
The only real criticism I have is that the book does not seem to be organized in a logical manner.
I would give the book an A
Dick
