Reviews tagging 'Excrement'

Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah

33 reviews

filipa_maia's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny informative inspiring lighthearted reflective sad tense fast-paced

4.5

I'm such a huge fan of Trevor Noah and this book was on my TBR list for so long... I was really excited about this read. I'm usually not a fan of autobiographies (biographies in general) but I could not pass this one.

I really enjoyed this book. Is so effortlessly written, almost like a conversation.  The story goes back and forth with such grace and detail that the reader feels like its actually a one-on-one talk with Trevor.

Trevor as a very unique way of describing whats around him. Its a very funny, but serious way of telling us what was like to born and live being someone who does not belong. But this book is so much more that just a story about Trevor's life. Is all about a time period that changed an entire country and its people forever. Its very interesting the way this book describes such dark times through the eyes of a child and, later, with the proper interpretation of an adult. More than 30 years after the end of apartheid people still live surrounded by its "ghost"... its not there anymore but its presence is still felt.

Everyone, no matter what your race is, your age, where you are from, should read this book. We all should learn what happened during (and after) apartheid, because when we forget the past we are bound to repeat the same mistakes.

P.S.: I believe there is a quote very similar to this by a philosopher, but this is a saying that I really like.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Police brutality, Grief, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Colonisation, and Classism

Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Blood, Car accident, Pregnancy, and Alcohol

Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Excrement, Medical content, Medical trauma, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

itsliterarycait's review against another edition

4.0

This was a really good read. Its pretty educational and relatable (for a black-coloured-looking South African). I love how he explains some colloquial terms and how he (seemingly) effortlessly describes life as a South African. I relate so much to how he describes himself as a chameleon, being black but not black enough, looking coloured but not being coloured, speaking multiple SA languages. This book really is like a mirror being held up to my face. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Racism, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Police brutality

Moderate: Excrement

Minor: Rape and Suicide attempt

clarabooksit's review against another edition

funny inspiring reflective fast-paced

3.5

This is good—not as good as the hype claims, but enjoyable. If you like Noah’s comedy and especially his delivery style, you’ll like this.

Noah is clever, nerdy and funny and this memoir showcases that. His love of South Africa, where he came from and his mother are apparent on every page, even as he’a cracking jokes about them. I especially enjoyed learning a lot about South Africa.

Where the book let me down is in its lack of emotional resonance. That and it was very obviously written for a U.S. American audience, which felt confining even if I’m a part of that audience.

Noah has lived a fascinating life full of sticky, incredible and awful moments, but his voice remains distant like the person at a party who tells wild and traumatic stories for laughs without registering how deeply personal they are. While there’s a great deal of reflection in the book, it all felt anecdotal to me. The format of the book also makes every story feel like a lesson and that didn’t quite work for me.

To be fair, that may be more of a reflection on me than the book. I did like it: it’s zippy, I learned a lot, it made me laugh and at the very end, it made me cry. But it didn’t thrill me. Would still recommend.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Violence, Xenophobia, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, Drug use, Slavery, Excrement, Police brutality, Medical content, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Animal cruelty and Rape

navyredrose's review against another edition

emotional funny lighthearted fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Xenophobia, Police brutality, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Excrement

Minor: Alcoholism, Gun violence, and Colonisation

sabrina_d_arcy's review against another edition

emotional funny informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Police brutality, Stalking, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Genocide, Excrement, Antisemitism, Kidnapping, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Abandonment

ruffian23's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful reflective tense medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Domestic abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Police brutality, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Classism

Minor: Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Excrement, and War

124smilehd's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective medium-paced

4.0

It was an interesting read about Trevor's life. I came to see just how eventful and downright tragic his life was over the years and was even more inspiring to see how his mother's influence prevented him from taking all that hurt and going down a dark path. I could never have imagined the amount of trauma this man has endured, yet still, manage to be the funny guy I knew him as before starting the book. There are of course some weak parts, specifically the poop chapter, but they are easily overshadowed by the stories involving Patricia Noah. She was by far the best part of the book and I was always looking forward to reading about her. In fact, if she were to write her own book or if Noah were to write a book for her I would buy it in a heartbeat.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Gun violence, and Excrement

Moderate: Sexism, Xenophobia, and Police brutality

cornustella's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative tense medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Excrement, and Alcohol

sammyb's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny hopeful reflective medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Blood, Excrement, Alcohol, and Classism

imaginethehours's review against another edition

adventurous funny hopeful lighthearted reflective sad fast-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Excrement, Pregnancy, and Classism