Born a Crime
Born a Crime is the story of a mischievous young boy who grows into a restless young man as he struggles to find himself in a world where he was never supposed to exist. It is also the story of that young man’s relationship with his fearless, rebellious, and fervently religious mother—his teammate, a woman determined to save her son from the cycle of poverty, violence, and abuse that would ultimately threaten her own life. The stories collected here are by turns hilarious, dramatic, and deeply affecting. Whether subsisting on caterpillars for dinner during hard times, being thrown from a moving car during an attempted kidnapping, or just trying to survive the life-and-death pitfalls of dating in high school, Trevor illuminates his curious world with an incisive wit and unflinching honesty. His stories weave together to form a moving and searingly funny portrait of a boy making his way through a damaged world in a dangerous time, armed only with a keen sense of humor and a mother’s unconventional, unconditional love.
Stats for nerds
16recommend
21mentions
20people
2016–2024years
81% recommend19% neutral
Mentions per year
What Hacker News says
- Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro.
Born a Crime, narrated by the author - Trevor Noah.
- I looked back, my issue was with another Yuval book: Homo Deus: A History of Tomorrow
Maybe I'll try Sapians it give Yuval another try.
My recent list:
The Half Known Life
Born a Crime
American Prometheus
Operation Mincemeat
Leonardo Da Vinci
Powers and Thrones
The Icepick Surgeon
Destiny of the Republic
The River of Doubt
Red Famine
Under the Banner of Heaven
In Order to Live
The Case of the Murderous Dr. Cream
Homo Deus
The Confidence Men
The Bomber Mafia
Calypso
Termination Shock
Red Platoon: A True Story of American Valor
The Dawn of Everything
The Secret Life of Groceries
The Hidden Life of Trees
- I particularly like autobiographies read by the author. A great sun-genre is comedian autobiographies since they’re already good storytellers. Three fine ones are: Martin Short’s “I must say”, Trevor Noah’s “Born a crime” and Guy Barnum’s “My Life as a Goddess”
Unrelated but well worth hearing is “On the road” by Jack Kerouac, read by Sean Penn.
- I'll always have a fondness in my heart for "Guns, Germs, and Steel" by Jared Diamond, and I have always enjoyed "The Stand" by Stephen King although I think it requires being in a certain mood to listen to it. "Born a Crime" by Trevor Noah was really good, because I think he's a good storyteller, he has a good voice for narration, and just the right amount of "funny" without it being forced
- Born a crime by Trevor Noah. It’ll make you laugh and cry, but it is so good and inspirational. The audiobook is also phenomenal.
Untamed by Glennon Doyle is also great, though is more geared towards women.
Also, the stoics. I’m enjoying the practicing stoic by Ward Farnsworth. They’re surprisingly accessible
- "Born a crime" by Trevor Noah. It is about his experiences growing up as the 'product' of an illegal liason between a black woman and a white man in aparatheid South African. Warm, funny and shocking in equal measure.
