Reviews tagging 'Medical content'

Laiton lapsi: Värikäs nuoruuteni Etelä-Afrikassa by Trevor Noah

22 reviews

pomoevareads's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring medium-paced

5.0

Trevor Noah’s voice came shining through in this book of essays about his life growing up in South Africa as a mixed race child. It is clear from this book that Trevor Noah became the intelligent, thoughtful and the critical thinker he is, in large part due to his mother and her careful way she imbued Trevor with reason and love. 

Growing up in the waning years of apartheid, Trevor was isolated from society because his mother was a black Xhosa woman and his father was a white Swiss German man. At the time it was illegal for races to mix. With the release of Nelson Mandela and the end of apartheid and the beginning of democracy, Noah still struggled to find where he belonged. He was a child with an unruly Afro and pale skin. He identified as black but was seen as other. 

At many points Noah’s sense of humour burns through the instances of racism, abuse, and poverty he experienced. He tells stories of being a bit of a grifter and a troublemaker with an innocence of someone who doesn’t want to hurt others. He shares what it was like having an abusive step father and moving between times of leanness and poverty. 

Told together, the stories make up a memoir of sorts for the period of Noah’s life up until the time he is beginning to really get noticed for his comedic talent.

Overall, this book of stories feels genuine and honest. I have been a fan of Trevor Noah’s comedy and see him as a modest, smart thinker who has surpassed the life of many who have had more.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Gun violence, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Physical abuse, Racism, Police brutality, Misogyny, Medical content, and Animal cruelty

voicenextdoor's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny medium-paced

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Misogyny, Medical trauma, Toxic relationship, Child abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Colonisation, Racism, and Medical content

Moderate: Police brutality, Antisemitism, Alcohol, Classism, and Animal cruelty

ashleycmms's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional funny inspiring reflective tense fast-paced

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Racism, Domestic abuse, Animal death, and Violence

Moderate: Racial slurs, Police brutality, and Animal cruelty

Minor: Medical content and Sexual violence

noahsingh's review against another edition

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Sexism, Alcoholism, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Misogyny, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Colonisation, and Gun violence

Moderate: Medical trauma, Bullying, Stalking, Police brutality, Animal cruelty, Car accident, Addiction, Animal death, Medical content, Confinement, Classism, Rape, and Kidnapping

Minor: Slavery and Suicidal thoughts

crazytourists_books's review against another edition

dark emotional funny informative sad tense medium-paced

3.0

An interesting book about growing up in South Africa before and after the end of Apartheid.. I could never imagine that Noah went through so much on his life; enough to break him, but he managed to step away, and that's remarkable. 
There was a lot of going back and forth in time that made it hard(er) to follow and gave a feeling of being a tad inconsistent. Not bad, just not great... 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Racism, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Excrement, Physical abuse, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Medical content, and Misogyny

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.

---

Content Warnings

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

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

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

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.

---

Content Warnings

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

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

Minor: Animal cruelty and Rape

bookworm247's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense fast-paced

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Confinement, Medical content, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Animal cruelty, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Sexism, Toxic relationship, and Violence

lesty_gibbs's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

The thing I have always loved about Trevor Noah is how brilliant of a storyteller he is, and it certainly shines through here! Trevor has incredibly insightful social commentary (as always) which is peppered throughout his reflections on different stories that shaped his early life. I learned so much about South Africa, and the very grassroots impacts of apartheid which I don't think I'd have learned otherwise. Really really good book. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Classism, Gun violence, Domestic abuse, and Colonisation

Moderate: Police brutality, Sexism, Injury/Injury detail, and Medical content

mandaraffe's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring medium-paced

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Physical abuse, Blood, Child abuse, Colonisation, Alcoholism, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Misogyny, Police brutality, Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, and Racism

Moderate: Animal cruelty

Minor: Pregnancy, Suicidal thoughts, and Animal death