sarahb919's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

4.75

Really interesting book but a challenging read. Challenges a lot of preconceptions I had about South Africa and its people. Glad I read it. 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

dani_reis's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional funny informative fast-paced

5.0


Expand filter menu Content Warnings

linnylionheart's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional funny fast-paced

4.0


Expand filter menu Content Warnings

hollydyer328's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging emotional funny informative reflective tense medium-paced

5.0

What a book! I’m speechless! The stories are unreal but told with humor that was cathartic. Whether or not you’re a Trevor Noah fan, you have to read this book. I’m so glad he shared his stories with the world.

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

snowiceblackfruit77's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional funny sad tense fast-paced

5.0


Expand filter menu Content Warnings

nanjeahug's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark informative reflective medium-paced

3.5


Expand filter menu Content Warnings

els4lp's review against another edition

Go to review page

5.0

read the Finnish translation by Jaana Iso-Markku

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

kiwichill's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny inspiring lighthearted reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

This was one of the best memoirs I have ever read.  I have never seen Trevor Noah on TV, I'd never heard of him.  I just kept seeing this book come up in Facebook groups etc.  At times shocking and disturbing,  other times humorous,  it opened my eyes to what life is like in South Africa, both during apartheid and after.  Poverty, domestic violence, crime, racism and government laws that support these ideals are a way of life over there. Noah's mother must be commended for the strength of character and resilience she displays.  I recommend listening to the audiobook as it is excellent 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

gwenswoons's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark funny informative inspiring sad tense medium-paced

4.0

Liked this a lot - lots of beautiful storytelling, tons of deep history about South African apartheid told in really personal ways, and an unusual balance of comedy and vivid, traumatic, clear information that Trevor Noah does so well. The structure, for me, wasn’t totally successful - I think the word “Stories” in the title is key, and it’s definitely built more like vignettes - to my reading, it was often not entirely successful from the extent of the non-sequitur - than like a traditional memoir (I’m not a major memoir reader anyway, so I was ok with this! But the timeline leaps and unrelated stories sometimes felt like they could have been built into a slightly more effective arc). I listened on audio, and can’t recommend it enough - he’s obviously such a great narrator, so funny, so inflected and beautiful (and, so amazing hearing him switch between different languages in different stories - I loved!!). Can’t imagine reading this NOT on audio! I’ll def read more of his books as he writes them 💜

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

zoegupta's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective tense medium-paced

5.0


Expand filter menu Content Warnings