Born a Crime by Trevor Noah

I'm about halfway through reading Trevor Noah's memoir, Born A Crime. I am really enjoying it and would strongly recommend it.

I didn't know what to expect from this book, and I think I guessed it would have lots of one-liners and some satirical hot takes and exaggeration for humor's sake. I don't see much of that here. Noah relates extraordinary events from his childhood in a straightforward way. 

He's a very good prose stylist although his style is fairly plain. Not surprisingly for a stand-up comic, he's a good storyteller, but here his storytelling style is mostly not very theatrical.

As a narrator, he conveys the sense that he is very grounded. He does offer explanation and context of his past, his parents' past, and his country's past.

I guess my feeling is that Noah grew up in a world with a lot of violence: criminal, political and psychological. Some of the things that he has to say are necessarily stimulating. I find it a bit of a relief to have it related without emphasis added. But much more than this, to me, is that I think he is a very good prose stylist. I found, after reading about 100 pages, that I was composing in my head in a much simpler style. I find that to be evidence of his skill as a writer. I suspect that he really likes words and chooses them carefully and artistically.

For instance, he tells the story of how his mother came to push him out of a speeding car in a matter-of-fact way, as he also tells the story of his first Valentine when he was twelve. On the other hand, he tells the story of how, to save money on gas, his mother used to make him push the car when it was stuck in heavy traffic on the way to his school. That is dramatically told.

One of the things that I like about Born A Crime is that much of it is a portrait of his mother. His mother is a very interesting person. She was farmed out to a relative as a small child, and when that relative could no longer take care of her, she took a secretarial course. Then she worked in an office in Johannesburg, but her mother insisted that all of her salary go to supporting her entire family. So, she literally ran away to Johannesburg, sleeping in public toilets until she could find a place to live that she could afford. She enjoyed going out in Johannesburg, and met a German-speaking Swiss, Noah's father. After some time she announced to him that she wanted to have a child with him. Although initially resistant, he eventually supported her decision. Because of apartheid laws in South Africa, they could not marry or live together: their relationship was illegal. 

Another thing I like about this book is that Noah talks a lot about language and how it can be used as a barrier and a bridge. Language was actively used by the apartheid government as a way to separate people and Noah learned that speaking a variety of languages (English, Afrikaans, Xhosa and other native languages) could give him entree to a variety of people, and that interested him.

And, of course, language is his business. His career began when his friends pushed him to try standup because they thought that he was so terrifically funny. Noah talks a bit about risk-tasking here, and he says that he feels that taking risks is ultimately rewarding and what he regrets is the risks he didn't take.

This interview Trevor Noah did to help promote the book gives an overview of Born A Crime, and conveys Noah's extremely pragmatic worldview:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_hfMNTnBM4I&t=3893s