I had bought ‘Born a crime’ on Flipkart
during one of the sales. Instead of sending me the unabridged version I’d
ordered, Flipkart sent me the ‘Adapted for Young Readers’ version. I didn’t
want to get into the hassle of returning the book, so I kept it.
I’ve seen Trevor Noah a bit as the host of
the Daily Show on Comedy Central. Little did I know that he had such a tough
childhood. The good thing about this book is that Trevor describes incidents
from his past with a sense of humour. He seemed to have been a hyperactive
child up to all sorts of mischief by his own admission. But when we find out
that his very birth was a crime due to the Immorality Act of 1950, which
prohibited romantic relationships between black and white people, it really
makes you think.
Trevor Noah describes his childhood and
schooling and how race was something that was a constant determinant of life in
Africa. We find out at the beginning of the book why his mom pushes him out of
a moving car, we find out how he ended up setting fire to a house— that too, a
white man’s house— why he landed up in jail, his activities in “the hood”, his
first dance at school and other aspects of his life.
He is clearly who he is thanks to his mom.
Her relationship with his step-dad is troubled and unhealthy, and he causes a
lot of harm to her and his family due to his alcoholism and narrow-mindedness. The
book is an important read because it helps us understand apartheid and how
oppressive it was to the people of Africa, and how even after years of it being
abolished, its dark shadow lingers on.
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