#1 - Born a Crime by Trevor Noah

This is the first book of my One Book Every Week 2020 challenge.

First of all, I should note that I'm a huge fan of Trevor. I've been watching his standup shows for years, even before he became the host of the Daily Show. I've watched him live in Stockholm in 2018, and I've since been looking forward for another such chance. Besides his comedic genius, I admire Trevor for his clarity of thought, his ability to call bullshit on irrational arguments, and for being so damn well-spoken.

I had a blast reading Trevor's memoir. It's a collection of essays detailing Trevor's early life in apartheid South Africa. This was a very entertaining read. The book deals with heavy topics such as racism, segregation, poverty, domestic abuse, crime and violence. Naturally, I was expecting this to be a serious, boring account of the horrible reality of that time. To my surprise, this felt like watching a very entertaining movie with lots of comedy, action, sad moments, and happy endings. I found myself expressing a wide range of emotions while learning about Trevor's adventures. You can expect to learn about apartheid; about South African culture, languages and neighborhoods. You can expect engaging stories about religion, strong women, parenthood, teenage love, entrepreneurship, crime and the South African criminal justice system.

The book centers around Trevor's (black) mom, (white) dad, stepdad, friends, the wider communities around them and, of course, apartheid. The book is composed of stories, with each having a central point, message, or character to convey. There were stories about young Trevor's troublemaker personality (he burned down an entire house!). About how strong, fearless and determined his mother was towards challenges presented by poverty, apartheid and womanhood. There were stories about Trevor's relationship with his dad (and a lack thereof). Stories of Trevor being bullied due to his mixed color. Trevor's first kiss, and how he was terrible with matters of the heart. Stories about Trevor's stepdad, which for the most part was a nice person, except when he almost killed Trevor's mom by shooting her. And much more.

Apartheid was a system of oppression against non-white people in South Africa. Trevor calls it "the most advanced racial oppression system in the world". One that was designed by studying different oppression systems, and borrowing the best parts of each. I knew a thing or two about apartheid, but not much in depth. Born a Crime helped me understand its origins, who designed it, why, and how it manifested in everyday life in South Africa. Although it contains snippets with history and facts of apartheid, the book is definitely not an in-depth look at apartheid itself. Instead, it helps you understand it by telling about the lives of people who lived through it.

I learned from the book how much race mattered in apartheid South Africa. People were labelled black, white or coloured (mixed). Each race was segregated in their own neighborhoods. The types of jobs people had access to depended on their race, with high-paying jobs only available to white people. Mixed people could get "promoted" to white, or "demoted" to black. Each race was made to hate the others. People saw everything through the lens of race. The way people treated each other depended on their skin color. Everyone had been conditioned to think this way through centuries of reinforcement.

Another interesting learning from the book, was the importance of language for identity, belonging, and, oppression. Trevor tells stories of how he and his mom, who are both skilled in multiple languages spoken in South Africa, were able to use language to blend in and avoid dangers among different tribes. He highlights how language is such an important factor when a person decides whether you're on the same team as them or not. This has led me to want to study language and its role on society more. Perhaps read a book on it :) ? Any recommendations, dear reader?

A big theme of the book is female strength and leadership. Trevor's mom, Patricia, is a strong, independent, rule-breaker kind of (black) woman, living in the white-male dominated times of apartheid. She broke all the rules by having a baby with a white person, which at the time was strictly forbidden. She illegally lived in white neighborhoods. She overcame several challenges presented by being resource-strapped. And she managed to single-handedly raise Trevor, a natural troublemaker kid, into a successful person, amid all the challenges. She was relentless, always finding solutions to life's many challenges. She ensured Trevor would have access to education, books, and everything she never had access to as a kid. And perhaps most importantly, she raised Trevor to be a person that wouldn't abide to the limitations of his time, place, and skin. She fostered in him a sense of self-confidence, and an ability to reason, think for himself and argue. Patricia is also a funny person, always cracking jokes, specially in the hardest of times. It's clear how major an influence she was on him.

I couldn't help but to draw parallels to my own mother. My mother was also raised in poverty. She also has a strong, leader type of personality. Her, and my dad, were able to go from being poor as kids, to making something out of themselves. And she's a big source of motivation and inspiration to me. This is probably part of why I always viewed women as just as capable and deserving as men, and why I strongly object to all the difficult things women go through to just be equal to men in society.

I highly recommend reading this book. It's informative, entertaining, and emotionally engaging. Trevor writes in vivid language, which should've been no surprise given his comedic talents. There's a 2011 documentary titled "You Laugh But It's True" in which you can see Trevor in his early career days, before he became a worldwide phenomenon. You can also watch the Daily Show where he routinely discusses politics with a healthy dose of comedy.