Farbenblind

by

Hardcover, 336 pages

German language

Published Jan. 14, 2017 by Blessing.

View on OpenLibrary

4 stars (3 reviews)

Trevor Noah kam 1984 im Township Soweto als Sohn einer Xhosa und eines Schweizers zur Welt. Zu einer Zeit, da das südafrikanische Apartheidsregime „gemischtrassige“ Beziehungen weiterhin unter Strafe stellte. Als Kind, das es nicht geben durfte, erlebte er Armut und systematischen Rassismus, aber auch die mutige Auflehnung seiner "farbenblinden" Eltern, die einfallsreich versuchten, Trennungen zwischen Ethnien und Geschlechtern zu überwinden. Heute ist er ein international gefeierter Comedian, der die legendäre "The Daily Show" in den USA leitet und weltweit – ob Sydney, Dubai, Toronto, San Francisco oder Berlin – in ausverkauften Sälen auftritt.

In "Farbenblind" erzählt Trevor Noah ebenso feinsinnig wie komisch in achtzehn Geschichten von seinem Aufwachsen in Südafrika, das den ganzen Aberwitz der Apartheid bündelt: warum ihn seine Mutter aus einem fahrenden Minibus warf, um Gottes Willen zu erfüllen, welche Musik er für einen tanzenden Hitler aufzulegen pflegte, um sein erstes Geld zu verdienen, und wie ihn eine …

14 editions

reviewed Born A Crime by Trevor Noah

'Born a Crime' review

4 stars

Pretty good! My biggest complaint is in the editing -- the time periods kind of jump all over the place, and not in an interesting, Christopher Nolan sort of way. Also, the transition from being a street hood in Johannesburg to host of the Daily Show was kind of not present at all; I guess we have to wait for the sequel to see how Trevor gets out of the country!

That said, the ultimate message of "holy shit Trevor Noah lived through some real abject poverty and abuse as a kid" was great, and something that all privileged kids should read. Also, I learned a lot more about street-level life in South Africa during the transition to post-apartheid, which was interesting and terrible.

reviewed Born a Crime by Trevor Noah

Stories of Trevor Noah (and South Africa)

5 stars

The book starts light-hearted the same way young Trevor takes his life. He takes it as a fact, to be a born crime, somehow different from the rest of the family. As the author Trevor Noah puts his childhood into perspective - with entertaining anecdotes and insights. Many stories in the book create a mix of emotions to process. I needed often day-long breaks where I was just reflecting over a story.

Nearly every story brings a broader understanding of Apartheid and the struggles in South Africa. It makes you understand how unfair everything was set-up by design. How it evolved from colonialism to a modern police state - and eventually felt apart.

The book is well written and combines personal life with the day-to-day history of South Africa in a unique way. Whether you find Trevor interesting or the history of South Africa, this is a book for you.

reviewed Born a Crime by Trevor Noah

I learned so much about Trevor Noah (and South Africa)

5 stars

It took me about a year to finish this one. I started off reading out loud with my partner but we moved on to something a bit cheerier due to the fact that a lot of the chapters are pretty depressing (it's still a great book, it just wasn't working for us in that context).

Having said that, I really enjoyed Trevor's book here and I have a whole new level respect for him. He's a terrific writer and a hilarious storyteller.

If you like Trevor Noah or are interested in South Africa, consider reading this book.