This book fits the memoir/biography aspect of my reading goal for 2018. I have to come clean. I am a huge fan of Trevor Noah, I've seen him live, I enjoy his brand of comedy. I know he isn't as popular but I think he is doing a great job as host of The Daily Show and I wish him all the best. Becuase I am a fan I had low expectations, I know this sounds odd, but I felt like I already knew him before I read the book. What was there to learn that I didn't already know. I knew he was bi-racial in apartheid South Africa. Boy, I was wrong?
The book focuses on a mother's love for his child. She is the true star of his life. He downplays his rise to fame, choosing to focus on his humble upbringing. It works. It is great. His mother and his life are crazy...in a good way. One thing I love about memoirs is that you get to see life through a different lens. In my schooling, we never talk about South Africa. As a literate person, I know who Nelson Mandela is and Desmond Tutu but I didn't know. I had no clue how engrained racism was in the society. As a comedian, Trevor does a great job deconstructing the absurdity of racism and of South Africa's ludicrous laws.
Although he doesn't have the weight of a founding father or a titan of business I think his memoir is a great read. Infused with humor, and insight the book is about a nation a half a world away but the reader can draw parallels to today's world. I highly recommend it.
In the slightly trivial news, I've re-watched some of his stand-up routines after reading the book, and they are so much better, now that I know how grounded they are in reality.
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