If you struggle to get into audiobooks, you definitely need to try the audiobook of Trevor Noah’s Born a Crime. I do read lots of audiobooks on Audible and through my public library’s Libby app. But it took me years of practice to be able to focus on them properly. Even now, there are still audiobooks that don’t grab me.
If this sounds like your audiobook experience, definitely try Born a Crime! Trevor Noah narrates, and he’s such a great storyteller. It’s laugh-out-loud funny while also being poignant and very serious. Loved it!
AUTHOR: Trevor Noah
NARRATOR: Trevor Noah
SERIES: none
PUBLISHER: One World; Later Printing edition
PUBLICATION DATE: November 15, 2016
PAGES: 304
AUDIOBOOK LENGTH: 8:44
GENRE: memoir, humor
SETTING: South Africa, during and after Apartheid (1980s-2017)
GIVE IT TO: HS, Adults
AWARDS AND KUDOS
- Booklist starred
- Publishers Weekly starred
- Evergreen Teen Book Award Nominee (2019)
- Lincoln Award Nominee (2019)
- NAACP Image Award for Debut Author and for Biography / Auto-biography (2017)
- Thurber Prize for American Humor (2017)
- Audie Award for Best Male Narrator (2018)
SUMMARY OF BORN A CRIME
Trevor Noah tells his wild coming-of-age tale during the twilight of apartheid in South Africa. It’s a story that begins with his mother throwing him from a moving van to save him from a potentially fatal dispute with gangsters, then follows the budding comedian’s path to self-discovery through episodes both poignant and comical.
Noah’s virtuoso embodiment of all the characters from his childhood, and his ability to perform accents and dialects effortlessly in English, Xhosa, and Zulu, garnered the Audie Award for Best Male Narrator in 2018. Nevertheless, Noah’s devoted and uncompromising mother—as voiced by her son—steals the show.
THE SHORT VERSION
This is one of my favorite audiobooks yet! A must for high school libraries.
WHAT I LIKED ABOUT BORN A CRIME
Great pacing. I was hooked on Trevor Noah’s narration of the audiobook in minutes. A lot happens in the story. Some parts are laugh-out-loud funny. Some parts are poignant reflections on race relations in post-Apartheid South Africa. Some parts are downright shocking and heartbreaking.
I had no idea Trevor Noah had been through all that! It’s incredible that he became what he did, and he certainly owes a lot of that to his mother. This memoir is Trevor’s story, but it is also the story of the many obstacles constantly thrown in his and his mother’s path. More on Trevor’s mother in a minute.
Trevor Noah is a fantastic storyteller. I never watched The Daily Show, not with Jon Stewart or with Trevor Noah, but it is clear Noah’s success is well-deserved. His storytelling style is engaging and laugh-out-loud hilarious. He gives different people from his past different voices. Noah speaks and even sings in Xhosa and Zulu. Noah has recently moved on from The Daily Show, and I’d love to see him do some voice acting.
Trevor’s mother. Y’all, this woman is a FORCE. By her sheer force of will, she ensured Trevor grew up both educated and street smart in a world where neither of them were truly safe, supported, or easily-accepted. Trevor clearly loves his mother fiercely. She’s as much of a character in the story as Noah is, and I would imagine she’s experienced plenty of her own fame as a result of her portrayal in the book. Trevor is inspired by and in awe of her, and so am I.
The focus is not on Trevor Noah’s fame. While Trevor mentions The Daily Show and comedy tours a few times in the story, they are just brief mentions. There is zero focus on how Noah got famous or what that was like for him.
Instead, Born a Crime is about Trevor’s family, his friends, and his childhood. I liked this approach because Trevor feels more real this way. He’s not a celebrity in the book; he’s a poor biracial kid growing up in South Africa. He’s a nobody with loads of unfair obstacles in his path, and readers will readily identify.
WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE ABOUT BORN A CRIME
I loved everything about this book. It’s one of my favorite audiobooks that’s I’ve read yet, right up there with Rex Ogle’s Free Lunch trilogy and Shaun David Hutchinson’s Brave Face.
THE AUDIOBOOK VERSION
I joined a book club a few months ago. I think I’m still the newest regular member, but I’ve enjoyed meeting so many well-traveled, interesting women who choose to live outside the US. A small group of us had been talking about how audiobooks can be difficult to get into, and how several of us tended to like audiobook memoirs (this includes me). Born a Crime came up as a recommendation.
I believe the audiobook is the only way to read this book. I listen to audiobooks often, but I still sometimes struggle with my focus. It depends greatly on the book itself and the narrator. From what I’ve heard from other readers, this is a common sentiment about audiobooks.
I’m happy to say that Born a Crime is one of the best audiobooks I’ve listened to yet! If you struggle with audiobooks, this might just be the one to get you hooked.
DIVERSITY
Trevor Noah is biracial. His mother is Xhosa and Black, and his father is Swiss and white. Nearly all people in the stories are Black or biracial South Africans.
ARTWORK/ILLUSTRATIONS
Not illustrated. Cover will appeal to a teen audience as many will recognize Trevor Noah’s face on the wall mural.
THEMES
- mothers and sons, celebrities, overcoming adversity, racism, police violence, police discrimination, Black Lives Matter, Apartheid in South Africa, homelessness, poverty, hunger, domestic violence, gun violence, abuse
LIBRARIANS WILL WANT TO KNOW
- Would adults like this book? YES
- Would I buy this for my high school library? YES
- Would I buy this for my middle school library? NO, but I would 100% buy the Young Readers version, which is for Grades 5-8
- Would I buy this for my elementary school library? NO
TRIGGER WARNINGS
- Language: medium – There is profanity, including the F-word, but it is not gratuitous and often adds to comedic effect.
- Sexuality: almost none – a brief kiss; description of a photo in a porn magazine
- Violence: high – Domestic violence against women is normalized in the community and goes unpunished; gun violence; police violence; mention of rape and beatings in the prison system
- Drugs/Alcohol: medium – Trevor’s stepfather is described as a drunk, mentions of drugs (Trevor does not take them himself)
- Other: Trevor hustles bootleg music CDs and is a neighborhood loan shark (non-violent)
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