"Born a Crime" by Trevor Noah

I first read Born a Crime about a year ago, but I've assigned it as summer reading for next year's AP class, so I decided a reread was in order. This time I listened to it on audiobook (I actually had to check out a booklet of CDs from the library, which seemed quaint), and I'd highly recommend that medium. As a comedian, Trevor Noah obviously has strong delivery, but since so much of his memoir is about language, the book is especially served by hearing Noah perform the various African languages and dialects himself.

Born a Crime is not a great book, at least not in the traditional English class meaning of deep symbolism and complex, lyrical prose. Noah is a skilled storyteller, but he writes simply and straightforwardly. Nonetheless, there's a reason AP teachers adore assigning it (and the reason I chose it): it's fun. I don't mean in a "beach read" kind of way, though the book is very funny and not challenging, but rather in that it demonstrates to students accustomed to reading dry classic novels and writing monotonous literary analysis essays that writing doesn't have to be that way. It can be joyous. It can be silly. It can be profane. And it can also have meaning.

Much of my first quarter in AP is spent breaking down students' expectations of what writing "should" look like. Last year I assigned In Cold Blood for summer reading, and while I adore Capote's style and structure, the nonfiction "novel" did little to challenge what students believe respected writing looks like. I'm hoping Born a Crime will be different--that we can explore alternative modes of expression and style in the written word.

Noah's book recounts his childhood in South Africa, particularly during Apartheid. Born to a white father and a Black mother, Noah's existence was a crime under South African law. As a mixed child, Noah never felt entirely at home with any racial group, yet he learned to find acceptance through language--speaking another's language equaled belonging. The book is also a "love letter" to Noah's mother, whose determination and faith propelled her through a challenging life.

It might be surprising that there's almost nothing about Noah's career--how he began in stand-up; his propulsion into fame; his current gig as host of The Daily Show. However, it's clear that, for Noah (for all of us, probably), everything that he is was shaped in childhood.  

Born a Crime should provoke interesting discussions on interpersonal issues (our relationships with parents or how we connect to peers) and societal issues connected to race, poverty, and the criminal justice system. But I hope it will also provoke discussion on style, craft, and the versatility of the written word.