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Born A Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood

Book by Trevor Noah

Whether or not Trevor Noah is on your radar yet, you’re 18 chapters away from declaring yourself a huge fan of the South African comedian and host of The Daily Show. These anecdotal essays weave together to form a brilliantly funny and deeply moving memoir of his experience of life in South Africa after apartheid.

Quite literally born a crime (his mother black and his father was white, making his very existence illegal in South Africa at that time) - Noah is able to recall with searing wit and resolute honesty things like having caterpillars for dinner during hard times to being thrown out the window of a moving car during an attempted kidnapping, and of the unconventional but unconditional love of his fiercely religious mother.

We laughed, we cried and we came away with whole new understanding of the legacy of apartheid - plus each essay happens to be perfectly sized for the average commute. Give it a read and let us know what you think in the comments box below.

Born A Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood (John Murray, £6.96 from Amazon)