Book Review Series#7: Born a Crime by Trevor Noah.

“The genius of apartheid was convincing people who were the overwhelming majority to turn on each other. Apart hate, is what it was. You separate people into groups and make them hate one another so you can run them all.
At the time, black South Africans outnumbered white South Africans nearly five to one, yet we were divided into different tribes with different languages: Zulu, Xhosa, Tswana, Sotho, Venda, Ndebele, Tsonga, Pedi, and more. Long before apartheid existed these tribal factions clashed and warred with one
another. Then white rule used that animosity to divide and conquer. All nonwhites were systematically classified into various groups and subgroups. Then these groups were given differing levels of rights and
privileges in order to keep them at odds.
Perhaps the starkest of these divisions was between South Africa’s two dominant groups, the Zulu and the Xhosa. The Zulu man is known as the warrior. He is proud. He puts his head down and fights. When the colonial armies invaded, the Zulu charged into battle with nothing but spears and shields against men
with guns. The Zulu were slaughtered by the thousands, but they never stopped fighting. The Xhosa, on the other hand, pride themselves on being the thinkers. My mother is Xhosa. Nelson Mandela was Xhosa.
The Xhosa waged a long war against the white man as well, but after experiencing the futility of battle against a better-armed foe, many Xhosa chiefs took a more nimble approach. “These white people are here whether we like it or not,” they said. “Let’s see what tools they possess that can be useful to us.
Instead of being resistant to English, let’s learn English. We’ll understand what the white man is saying, and we can force him to negotiate with us.”
The Zulu went to war with the white man. The Xhosa played chess with the white man. For a long time neither was particularly successful, and each blamed the other for a problem neither had created.
Bitterness festered. For decades those feelings were held in check by a common enemy. Then apartheid fell, Mandela walked free, and black South Africa went to war with itself."

The memoir opens with a copy of the Immorality Act of 1927. This gives room for the readers to take a guess on what exactly the novel is centred on: Racism.Trevor Noah was born in 1984, during a time which was characterised by apartheid and segregation in South Africa. Noah gives his readers a catchy side note, in which he mocks the apartheid system: “The genius of apartheid was convincing people who were the overwhelming majority to turn on each
other. Apart hate, is what it was."

The Major Themes are:
The major themes are:

Racial Discrimination
Domestic Violence
Youthful exuberance
Bravery
The Power of Language

Racial discrimination: With the opening historical reference of the novel, The Immorality Act of 1927, it is quite clear that Noah uses it as a tool of insight for the readers. All through the novel, there are lots of instances of racial discrimination and segregation. Noah's childhood is fraught with sheer racism. Having to go to school and seeing the children playing in groups, according to race, not having a strong connection with his father, as a result of the prohibition of “white-black" sexual relationship, and being stuck in the middle as a result of being coloured.

All these events keep causing questions to pop up in little Trevor's head.
Noah further mocks the apartheid system and criticises it's for of ruling. The divide and rule policy.
“Part of the effort to divide black people was to make sure we were separated not just physically but
by language as well"
During the era of apartheid, the white people strived to constantly discard the feeling of togetherness amongst the Africans.Noah sheds light on the antics and crooked means which the white men used to achieve this aim.

Domestic Violence: Noah's mother faces a violent life in the hands of her husband and Trevor's step father, Abel. Abel starts out as a “nice guy" but after he gets married to Nombuyiselo , Trevor's mum, thinks take a turn. He begins to drink heavily and hit her. Nombuyiselo is reluctant to leave Abel because they have a child together. She withstands several beatings from Abel. Even after trying to file charges against Abel, the police wave it off, calling it “family issues".
These events highlight the alarming rate of domestic violence in South Africa, and Africa as a whole. The women feel trapped, they can't run to anyone for help. Their family members would brush it off, saying “All men do it", just like Nombuyiselo's mother said.
They can't run to the police either, because, “They were men before being police officers"

Youthful exuberance: As a young child, Trevor is naughty and adventurous. He seeks to explore. One of the most dangerous things Trevor does as a child, is play with fire. Noah expresses his childhood love for fire and how it gets him into trouble. A specially amusing event occurs when Trevor burns down the garage of the nice white people who rent out their garage to Abel.
Another humorous event happens when Trevor, while playing with fireworks and gun powder with his cousin, loses the front of his hair and his eyebrows as the firework explodes.

We see that Trevor is a strange but unique child. His quest for adventure helps his creative process, as he grows up.

The Power of Language: Noah, with his novel, expresses language as a vital tool to creating a feeling of oneness. As a result of this, he tries as much as possible, with his mother's help, to learn as many languages as he can. It helps his throughout his journey of childhood. While making a reference, Noah cites one of Mandela's quotes
Nelson Mandela once said, “If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that
goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart.”

Language gets Trevor out of several dangerous situations. It also helps him to gain favour in prison, with the big man who is called “hulk": “The second I spoke to him, this face
that had seemed so threatening and mean lit up with gratitude."

Right from his childhood, his friends from other tribes are mesmerised by Trevor's ability to speak their respective languages fluently. As a result of this, Trevor's friends from each tribe, regard him as one of them, one of their own.

It's a good book, overall. I like the fact that Noah includes humorous events and phrases. He tells the story from the perspective of a child. Of course, the perspective transcends as Trevor grows up. I was stuck on the book throughout the ride. I was eager to know the next silky adventure that little Trevor was gonna get involved in. Linking humour with such a serious matter is also a unique idea. Like they say, “The African man laughs at his problems". This exactly what Noah does, whilst writing the book. However, he doesn't overdo it to the point of making the readers forget the issue at hand. I also like that Noah is raw and original. He says it as it is, without mincing words.

He takes us through his journey as a child, in an exquisite manner . The readers feel like they're actually present in Trevor's childhood, going through his silly adventures with him. I give the book a thumbs up! I recommend it for adults because of the constant use of swear words in the novel.