Before obtaining this book, I had actually watched numerous of Trevor Noah’s stand-up comedy videos on YouTube or Instagram. But it wasn’t until I studied his bibliography that I discovered his upbringing was not as idyllic as mine because of the apartheid in South Africa.
Remarkably, although he was born a crime, he managed to twist his life and become a successful stand-up comedian despite all the tough grind he had gone through. Sounds like a cliche story huh lol. But to be honest, I’m always curious: do most comedians have the ability to laugh through pain? Like, they realize they can’t change the situation or society with a single snap, so they’ve opted to bring it up in a lighthearted and humorous manner? I’m not sure. But it must take a lot of courage for them to go through all that hardship and laugh about it.
Apartheid is the major theme of the novel. It was the absurd restrictions that separated individuals based on their skin tones. White people can only marry other white people, and black people can only mingle with other black people. There were white suburbs and black ghettos. I don’t like to say what I will say next because this law was unfortunate for black people at the time, but it was a brilliant “white” move in 1948. Apartheid forbade interracial marriage; you divide people into groups and make them hate each other so you can rule over them all. This rule helped the 10% whites in South Africa control the 90% black and colored population. Furthermore, post-apartheid continued to make the black turn against each other and then battle.
Despite the atrocities in the book, I assure you it is not that depressing to read. As a comedian, Noah likes to make jokes at the end of each paragraph. It includes numerous amusing anecdotes about his childhood, love life, high school drama, and his tom-and-jerry connection with his mother.
Overall, I enjoy this book quite a lot. I have been stuck in non-fiction books for quite a long time because the facts and theories make me feel that I’m growing while reading or understanding the text. However, I seem to have forgotten my initial motivation for reading. I’ve always wished to learn about the human experience from a different perspective through books because reading is the quickest method for me to get to know someone, like delving into their worlds and books being the essence of their lives. Happy to have read this book in October!
Ps: Thanks adik Yew for the book :D