Trevor Noah is an internationally-acclaimed comedian renowned for selling out shows at major venues and hosting numerous television programs.
Patricia, his mother, is an unwavering Christian who takes on multiple responsibilities to provide for her family. Patricia speaks multiple languages.
Trevor Noah grew up in South Africa at a time when mixed-race children were illegal. Although he has both black mother and white father parents, their lives were marked with struggles related to race relations as well as his mother’s relationship with an abusive alcoholic. Yet Trevor overcame all obstacles and is now one of the most celebrated comedians worldwide.
Noah recounts his experiences growing up during South Africa’s apartheid era with great humor in Born a Crime, detailing both its good, bad, and ugly sides of upbringing. Furthermore, it provides greater insight into colonial and apartheid histories within South Africa.
Patricia Nombuyiselo is from South Africa’s Xhosa tribe and holds Zulu heritage. In her book, Patricia notes that although Apartheid ended in 1994, segregation persists throughout society despite efforts made towards integration. As such, Patricia and her family struggle to make ends meet and face numerous hardships every day.
Noah started out his comedy career as a TV host in South Africa. Since then he has written multiple books and made appearances on popular talk shows; making an admirable figure both due to his talent and dedication as well as for his charitable works.
Noah uses humor in his comedy routines to address social injustice. His biracial heritage and mother’s resilience inspire him to use comedy routines as a platform against racism and other forms of oppression; his approach has gained him popularity among audiences around the world.
He began his comedy career in 2002 by appearing as a cameo in SABC3 soap opera Isidingo, followed by two years hosting an educational show on that channel. Later he moved to America and hosted The Daily Show before writing two books and engaging in charitable work; one such work being his memoir Born A Crime which details life during apartheid South Africa as well as struggles to fit into society.
After Jon Stewart left, Noah took over hosting duties of The Daily Show and quickly made it an instantaneous cultural phenomenon. By using his skill at impressions and accents to explore serious issues while entertaining audiences with comedic relief, Noah pointed out the hypocrisy of both Republicans and Democrats as well as news media’s inadequacies.
He broadened the audience of his show by expanding its coverage of international politics, hosting Grammy awards, appearing in films such as Black Panther, and continuing his sold-out comedy tours. Born a Crime – as well as its young readers’ adaptation – was also well received.
Trevor’s last show aired in 2023, yet he continues to record weekly podcasts featuring celebrity interviews such as Anderson Paak discussing his Netflix special “Blocks”, Hakeem Jeffries becoming the first black Democrat member of Congress, Mark Ruffalo discussing police violence and exploring travel during an outbreak such as COVID-19. He also explores travel within an era ravaged by coronavirus pandemic.
Noah’s book, Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood, is an autobiography which details his own harrowing experiences as well as humorous ones he encountered during his youth in South Africa. Through sharing this material in an engaging fashion, readers gain greater knowledge about racism and apartheid issues and gain a better understanding of racism itself.
Noah recounts his biracial upbringing with humor and poignancy. His mother and grandmother hid him from police so as to prevent racial tension from rising further, since their children could potentially be confiscated or sent directly to jail due to being outsiders. Noah talks of how police officers could even arrest his parents due to being seen with an out-of-place child; mother also worried for Noah’s safety after hearing how often children of mixed race could be sent directly to jail without notice or due process being followed for such minorities being caught as being considered outsiders by their mothers or grandmothers despite efforts on both sides hiding from police — something his mother and grandmothers did for fearing trouble for being different than expected and protecting him from getting in trouble themselves as an outsider; mother worried her son may even get sent away since being seen by authorities could result in confiscated children being taken from her care, since their parents may get arrested due to legal protection issues regarding potential issues such as confiscated children being sent off-track due to being perceived to being seen to being arrested, which could occur due to being perceived to being seen to being classified as such outsider status being sent away to jail due to possible confiscated custody being placed by authorities and arrested accordingly thereby.
Noah is known for his charming writing style and engaging storytelling. Instead of writing chronologically, his book instead presents a series of anecdotes; slowly introducing Patricia’s husband Abel without ever directly telling the reader he is self-loathing, violent abuser.