Home in the World

Last Updated on April 27, 2025 by Home in the World

Recommended read #5 for your next plane or train journey – or even if you’re simply looking to curl up with a good book at home.

I was a bit late to the party with this book, as it was actually published in 2016, but when I finally saw Trevor Noah’s childhood memoir, Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood, recommended to me on Goodreads, I knew I absolutely had to read it. Not long before I wrote this, Trevor had recently taken out the Emmy for his popular talk show The Daily Show, which he hosted from 2015 until 2022.

I can’t say I had been exposed to a heck of a lot of Noah’s work in the past – I had seen bits and pieces of his show and clips of his stand-up comedy – but what I had seen impressed me. I appreciated the way he used his comedic satire and sharp wit, delivered in his uniquely South African/American twang, to shed light on issues that are otherwise not laughing matters at all: racism, apartheid, colonialism, violence, prejudice, among others.

Perhaps the deepest side I saw of him was his podcast interview with Jay Shetty (the video is also embedded further down), where he really delved into his life at a more profound, sometimes even darker, level. This was really where his intelligence, articulateness and thoughtfulness came to the fore, and it was my memory of this that really spurred me on to read Born a Crime.

** Before we continue, please note that there are never any spoilers in my reviews; they are purely designed to give an overview of the book and my impressions of it without revealing too much of the plot **

What is Born a Crime about?

Trevor Noah is the mixed-race son of a white Swiss father and black Xhosa mother, born in South Africa during the wretched period that was apartheid. One of the primary tenets of apartheid was, of course, to essentially segregate Blacks from Whites, so being a mix of the two made him the visible product of a punishable crime, hence the name of the book.

This complicated background has no doubt qualified Noah to make his now-famous social commentaries on the likes of racism, privilege, domestic abuse and injustice – because he witnessed and experienced all of it at such a visceral level for so many of his formative years. And he uses his trademark subtle humour to highlight the fact that race is a social construct, and rightly shame the ridiculous premises on which apartheid was based, namely how, for example, Chinese were considered ‘Black’ under the system, whereas Japanese were considered ‘White’.

Being a language nerd myself, I also really enjoyed the sections on language. Noah himself speaks about five, including the likes of Zulu and Xhosa. He talks about being a ‘chameleon’ and using language as a tool for fitting in in various communities and environments, and how language is the quickest way to bridge the race gap. I found this passage particularly interesting:

‘Language brings with it an identity and a culture, or at least the perception of it. A shared language says “We’re the same.” A language barrier says “We’re different.” … The great thing about language is that you can just as easily use it … to convince people they are the same.

Racism teaches us that we are different because of the color of our skin. But because racism is stupid, it’s easily tricked. If you’re racist and you meet someone who doesn’t look like you, the fact he can’t speak like you reinforces your racist preconceptions. … However, if the person who doesn’t look like you speaks like you, your brain short-circuits because your racism program has none of those instructions in the code.’

Following a loosely chronological sequence, Noah takes readers along for the rollercoaster of a ride. We learn the inspiring story of his strong, deeply religious mother, and how his parents came to meet despite being from such wildly differing worlds; we are privy to the young Trevor Noah’s quirks, vulnerabilities and humiliating moments (think embarrassing adolescent dating); we get to know his entrepreneurial side as he, with the help of his friends, becomes a sought-after local DJ; and we even experience his stint in a South African jail, with all the motley characters this involves.

We laugh along at some hilarious episodes – I found myself guffawing during the chapter entitled ‘Go Hitler!’ (no, it’s not at all what it sounds like) – and feel varying levels of horror at others, the gamut of horror ranging from mere squeamishness at graphic depictions of worm-eating to full-blown shock and outrage at stories of domestic abuse.

My impressions of the book

I personally also really enjoyed Noah’s vivid descriptions of the various neighbourhoods he lived in, which included the renowned Johannesburg township of Soweto. You can really picture the dusty streets, the jalopy buses, the makeshift shacks and the random chaos by the roadside. While I personally have not visited Soweto, I did visit the Langa township in Cape Town in 2008, and while it felt perfectly serene, orderly and safe when I was there, Noah’s descriptions did remind me of some of the more unusual (to me) things I saw there, such as people cooking sheep’s heads in the street.

At one point he describes how it would take families generations to actually build a house, because each room would go up gradually, wall by wall, as and when the dwellers were gradually able to afford the extensions. It’s something many of us would take for granted. He also mentions how carjackings would be met with downright indifference, so commonplace were they: Someone was late to something because they got carjacked? Oh dear, oh well, it happens.

Knowing the hardship and poverty that Noah went through (and indeed what many people in many parts of the world sadly continue to live through even today), it is easy to come away thinking ‘it’s built resilience’, ‘it’s made him a better person’ etc. And that is absolutely true. There is no question that people growing up in adverse conditions, who have known true destitution and witnessed things no one should ever have to see, will likely be stronger, more resilient and have more appreciation for things others may take for granted.

However, it also reminds me of a comment Noah made on Jay Shetty’s podcast, which struck me even at the time of listening but was further emphasised after reading Born a Crime.

Noah rightly said that people shouldn’t have to go through such extreme, appalling experiences to achieve resilience, that he is never ‘grateful for suffering … simply because it built resilience’, and that he would rather live in a world where people’s tools for resilience are things like ‘how to feel good about yourself even when you can’t get enough TikTok followers.’ He jokes to a certain extent, of course, but I did think it was an interesting and important point that took on even more meaning after finishing the book.

Why read Born a Crime by Trevor Noah?

If you’re picking up Trevor Noah’s childhood memoirs and expecting page after page of comedic hilarity, you will need to shift your expectations. While his dry wit is peppered throughout, some sections with heftier doses than others, this is largely a more serious work that deals with some heavy topics, made more palatable by said injections of humour.

Born a Crime is a real-life study of cultural identity, race, (domestic) violence, apartheid and post-apartheid South Africa, and the trials and tribulations of adolescence with the added complication of a Third World environment. It is essentially a story of survival. But it is also a story of inspiring (female) role models and heartwarming family bonds, and essentially the adventures of a deep-thinking, intelligent and sometimes-mischievous young boy.

It is well written, emotive and easy to read. There is a little bit of jumping back and forth in time, which can initially be a little confusing, but nothing too crazy. I highly recommend it, regardless of whether you are familiar with Trevor Noah or not. My only regret is that I didn’t listen to the audio book, which he apparently narrates himself. I think it would be amazing to hear his story in literally his own words, so I may well go back and listen to the audio version too!

** This post, like everything else on this website, has been written entirely by me. No ChatGPT or any other AI tool has been used. It takes longer to create, but I value 100% human-generated content and I hope you do too! **

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For more of my recommended reads, check out the Books section of this website.

If you’re interested in books focusing on different cultures, you may particularly enjoy Lady Tan’s Circle of Women by Lisa See or The Pearl That Broke Its Shell by Nadia Hashimi.

And if first-hand accounts/semi-autobiographical books are more your thing, check out my reviews of Abroad in Japan by Chris Broad and Tokyo Junkie by Robert Whiting.

Are you a fan of both travel and reading? Then check out my post on The Wordy Traveler’s beautiful subscription boxes. There’s even a special discount offer inside!

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