Peaking into the Life of Trevor Noah in Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood

"On February 20, 1984, my mother checked into Hillbrow Hospital for a scheduled C-section delivery. Estranged from her family, pregnant by a man she could not be seen with in public, she was alone. The doctors took her up to the delivery room, cut open her belly, and reached in and pulled out a half-white, half-black child who violated any number of laws, statutes, and regulations—I was born a crime."

It’s very rare that I find myself crying with the inability to identify the cause. Are the tears from laughter or sadness? Well, while reading Trevor Noah's memoir, Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood, the source of my tears proved quite difficult to differentiate.

Born a Crime is a book that is equally as painful as it is funny. It’s an enlightening and eye-opening tale that carefully narrates the complex nature of merely existing as a mixed race child in the final days of apartheid – a time where the offspring of a black African woman and white Swiss father was declared illegal by the South African government.

Growing up, Trevor’s mother, Patricia, was rarely fazed by apartheid, a racist system of laws that’s immaculate in its very own unique way. Headstrong since childhood, she always marched to the beat of her own drum, defying the expectations that her family – and society as a whole, imposed on her being. As a reader, it’s evident to see that Patricia passed on this extemporaneous quality to her son Trevor, as he often times throughout the novel finds himself in unique situations due to his own impetus.

Retold against the backdrop of Soweto, Born a Crime divulges many heart wrenching tales of the rampant poverty that Noah and his mother fell victim to – as did many black South Africans in the apartheid-era. In the toughest of times, the mother-son duo found themselves in many dismal situations, such as having to eat marogo (wild spinach) cooked with mopane worms (caterpillars) to survive, and jumping out of moving cars to avoid being kidnapped and murdered.

However, the most morose piece in the novel is the retelling of Patricia Noah’s relationship with her then-boyfriend Abel Shingange – an abusive drunk whose very presence threatens to drive a wedge between the Noah household. Throughout the later chapters, readers follow along as Trevor routinely attempts to reckon with how his mother, someone who he has always regarded as resilient, allowed herself to fall victim to someone who abuses her on the regular basis, and in the end, attempts to take her life.

Though such tales are indeed bleak, the beauty of this memoir lies in Noah’s ability to prudently weave in an equal amount of lighthearted stories, such as instances of him hilariously debating his mother on religion, trying his hand at being a bootlegger and the all too common unlucky tales of dating woes in high school. 

This poignant and enthralling story provides an earnest look into the all of the unique experiences that made Trevor Noah into the man we know and love. He has an innate ability to stimulatingly narrate his life story like only he can, leaving a considerable impact on readers like myself who have a keen interest in discovering the human side to our favorite celebrities and the makings that turn them into the extraordinary figures that are lauded today. 

Happy reading!

Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely… Doing the Best She Can

If someone asks you how you are, you are meant to say FINE. You are not meant to say that you cried yourself to sleep last night because you hadn't spoken to another person for two consecutive days. FINE is what you say.

As an outsider looking in, Eleanor Oliphant seems to be doing just fine. She works her regular 9-5, eats the same meals everyday, and reads ample amounts of literature. She has her daily schedule perfected, always being sure to squeeze in the essentials such as weekly chats with her malicious Mummy and helping herself to vodka, albeit – too much vodka, to make it through the lonely weekends.

So then what is the big deal about Eleanor? Why should we care about someone who is doing perfectly fine? Well Eleanor is… let’s call her rare.

Eleanor is not your typical 29 year old. She doesn’t fit in at work, spent her formative years in and out of numerous foster homes, and not to mention – she refers to bars as public houses. She has zero friends and has a diminutive grasp of anything remotely related to pop culture. Simply put, calling her socially awkward would be the understatement of the year. Yet one day, Eleanor wins raffle tickets to a rock concert where she spots the potential love of her life, Johnnie Lomand, a lead singer in his local band.

As her interest in Johnnie intensifies, Eleanor takes it upon herself to begin working toward securing their future together – what she regards as, her special project. But this project began to take on a life of its own, as Eleanor, a woman who admittedly hasn’t gotten her hair cut since she was 13-years-old, pulls a 180. One by one she begins purchasing a new stylish wardrobe, coloring her hair, and even getting a bikini wax. All this in the hopes that the love of her life will actually notice her.

Simultaneously as she plans her impending union, Eleanor, along with her colleague Raymond, encounters a man who collapses on the street just a few feet in front of them. Without thinking, they call an ambulance and accompany the man, Sammy, to ensure that he is okay. Days go by as the two continue to check on him, and a friendship between Eleanor, Raymond and Sammy begins to form. After Sammy recovers and leaves the hospital, he invites the two of them into his home where they’re promptly welcomed by his benevolent friends and family members.

With Eleanor’s brand-new social life now falling into place, she realizes that it’s time to finally put the finishing touches on her special project by taking it to the next level. But unfortunately, fate had other plans as readers are now introduced to a new Eleanor, one that is cold, naked and determined to commit suicide.

Readers will find themselves on a capricious rollercoaster ride throughout the novel as they slowly discover more about Eleanor, her upbringing, and why she is the way she is – completely fine. If you’re like me, you’ll slowly begin to love Eleanor as she breaks down the walls around her guarded heart and allows herself to be more vulnerable and accepting of love.

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine is a marvelous book and easily one of my absolute favorite novels of the past decade. Gail Honeyman is genius in her ability to show how Eleanor’s life comes full circle, proving that our past, no matter how abnormal, isn’t meant to define our future.

Let me know what you think in the comments below.

Happy reading!

Taylor Jenkins Reid Takes Readers Behind The Music in Daisy Jones & the Six

Sex, drugs, and rock and roll – these are the key ingredients that keep the wonderful world of pop culture spinning. Luckily for readers, these aforementioned ingredients can be found in abundance in Taylor Jenkins Reid’s latest novel, Daisy Jones & the Six.

For fans of VH1's Behind the Music, 1960’s and 70’s counterculture enthusiasts, or any avid music consumer, this story takes readers on a surreal journey through the life of Daisy Jones, an impetuous singer-songwriter whose one goal in life is to make it big in Hollywood.

At first glance, it’s quite easy to write Daisy Jones off. She’s the prototype for rich entitled kids from California. Her parents have excess amounts of money, she’s young, thin and described as strikingly beautiful (as most fictional characters are in modern literature. What happened to looking average?) Despite her privilege, she rejects taking the easy way out, refusing to become a record label’s puppet or a piece of arm candy to whatever celebrity is hot at the moment. She believes in her craft and pushes those around her to believe as well. And to much avail, it works!

As Daisy gains more notoriety and respect in her field, her then-producer encourages her to collaborate with the up-and-coming band, the Six, led by an equally stubborn Billy Dunne. Together with his brother and fellow bandmates, the Six were rapidly climbing the charts, and Billy was sure to make use of all the morally devoid perks that came with being a rock star. However, after hitting his rock bottom, Billy straightens up and devotes himself to being a loving dad and a caring husband to his wife, Camila.

As a result of his past battles with addiction and infidelity, Billy finds himself in an everyday struggle being around someone as reckless as Daisy. While Billy’s favorite pastimes include writing music and hanging out with his family, Daisy, on the other hand, opts for vast amounts of partying, sleeping around, consuming unfathomable amounts of drugs and alcohol. As a constant reminder of his past life, Billy fights to keep Daisy at arm’s length while navigating how to amicably work together and give the fans the music they crave.

However, as tensions between Billy and Daisy reach an all-time high, their fellow bandmates begin to realize how dangerously close they’re becoming to losing it all – their careers, their hard work, and most importantly, their sanity.

If you’re like me, you’ll have a hard time believing that this book isn’t a true story – that Daisy Jones and the Six aren’t actually real people. With each fictional Rolling Stone reference I fought the urge to pull up the referenced cover stories, and with each song lyric I fought the urge to try and stream their music on Spotify. The level of detail that Jenkins Reid poured into this story is unmatched.

Readers will be more than satisfied with the numerous points of view and copious levels of drama that each chapter of this book brings to life. Couple that with pills, cocaine, alcohol, secret abortions and affairs, and you get Daisy Jones & the Six.

Happy reading!

Hacking The Crazies In Doree Shafrir's Startup

Schadenfreude lives in all of us. That’s just the bitter truth. The more toxic they are, the more we love to see them fall.

Startup, by Doree Shafrir, is a book that easily satisfies readers with its not-so-unique tale of New York's startup tech world and all of the baggage that comes with navigating toxic behavior in today's work place.

The storyline centers around Mack McAllister, a typical startup bro whose mindfulness app, TakeOff, promises to bring in the big bucks to his investors. How he charms these venture capitalists into pouring millions of dollars into this redundant app is beyond me, but still, his ability to easily persuade investors into funding their poorly thought out ideas reminds me of Fyre Festival's notorious creator, Billy McFarland.

Like McFarland, Mack McAllister makes big promises that he's not too sure he can keep. And as an added bonus, he is also dipping his pen in the company ink, which never bodes well as readers will come to see.

The book also introduces us to Katya Pasternack and Sabrina Choe Blum, a Russian-American Tech Journalist and a Korean-American Social Media Manager who both struggle with terrible partners, unrealistic expectations from their bosses, and staying afloat in a rapidly changing workplace environment amid the world of social media and the burgeoning #MeToo movement.

This story gives us multiple insights into the lives of startup employees, women in tech, and the toxic patriarchal culture that more often than not plagues the industry. And for those who don’t work in tech, there are still many points of relation with the characters. Despite not working for a startup company, I do have my fair share of experience working in journalism and social media, with the added bonus of working in New York City, so I was especially drawn in upon reading the premise.

If it had not been for my terribly low iron levels, which puts me in a state of perpetual fatigue, I would have most likely finished this novel in a day. However, factoring in biology, it took me all of eight hours to complete this novel over the course of two days.

A definite five-stars, I would recommend this book to those who are fans of modern fiction, light reads, satire and to those who spend endless hours on Buzzfeed taking quizzes to find out what type of bagel they are. For everyone in between, it can also serve as a nice filler between emotionally heavy reads, like Beloved or Educated.

Readers can purchase Startup on Amazon or the Amazon Kindle Store, but if you’re cheap like me, then the New York Public Library will suffice. Let me know what you think in the comments below.

Happy reading!