Reviews tagging 'Abandonment'
Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood, by Trevor Noah
3 reviews
bookishbabbles's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
sad
medium-paced
5.0
This book made me laugh, cry and reflect on my own life choices. This is the story of how Trevor Noah became the man he is today and the woman who raised him. I wish I could hug his mother! The story of Trevor Noah is one that feels close to home in many ways.
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Racism, Abandonment, Classism, and Police brutality
jnl00700's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
5.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Classism, Violence, Racism, Racial slurs, Alcoholism, Bullying, Colonisation, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Grief, Abandonment, Addiction, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Hate crime, Alcohol, Cursing, Xenophobia, Sexism, and Misogyny
Moderate: Animal death
rhys_thomas_sparey's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
5.0
Few books are so affective, and in such a variety of ways.
It seems cliche to review a book for its ability to make a reader laugh and cry, but it is true that Noah's autobiography achieves both. More than that, it is an inadvertent ethnography of the perseverance of racism and misogyny in post-apartheid South Africa, but in their significantly more complex forms, as well as their historic origins in British and Dutch colonialism. Whether it elaborates on the playground politics of suburban Catholic schools or narrates quite matter-of-factly the extraordinary and dangerous lengths to which him and his mother would go simply to survive, Noah's ability to understand the human spirit at its core and convey his experiences as much with comedy as with tragedy is magnificent and I recommend it to everybody.
It seems cliche to review a book for its ability to make a reader laugh and cry, but it is true that Noah's autobiography achieves both. More than that, it is an inadvertent ethnography of the perseverance of racism and misogyny in post-apartheid South Africa, but in their significantly more complex forms, as well as their historic origins in British and Dutch colonialism. Whether it elaborates on the playground politics of suburban Catholic schools or narrates quite matter-of-factly the extraordinary and dangerous lengths to which him and his mother would go simply to survive, Noah's ability to understand the human spirit at its core and convey his experiences as much with comedy as with tragedy is magnificent and I recommend it to everybody.
Moderate: Racial slurs and Racism
Minor: Abandonment
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