Literary Criticism

Born a Crime is a meaningful, heartfelt book that is like no other. Not only is the circumstance of being born mixed during apartheid unique in itself, but the writing style that Trevor Noah has is familiar and personal, allowing for a connection between the readers and the book. He often writes in a light-hearted, comedic tone that we all recognize and it breaks up the seriousness of some of the troubling topics that he explores, especially violence and discrimination. The book is written so that his stories are described from the perspective of how he actually felt when he was in that experience rather than simply telling what happened, and as a reader, we get to observe how those experiences affected his life. It's like we're growing up with him, starting from when he was a child, too little to even understand race, to when he was a young adult learning that his mother was shot by a dysfunctional man. 

Essentially, the purpose of this book is to understand people of different backgrounds. The book shows how one's life is impacted by empty discrimination. For obvious reasons, injustice does more harm than good. With the new perspective that is given by this book, a reader can develop more sympathy for those who deal with issues like racism. If more people read books like this, they could see how people of color, or whatever quality it is that is being targeted, are really no different from themselves. All humans value the same basic things, like success or family. Overall, this book was enjoyable and worth recommending.