January 2020: Born a Crime by Trevor Noah

     Details: meeting at Tamara's house at 7:30.  

     Discussion to start at 8:00

Discussion Questions:

1. Did you like the book?  Was there anything about the book that surprised you? Were you familiar with Trevor Noah before reading the book? 

2. Trevor Noah opens his memoir with a story about being thrown from a car by his mother. In what ways does this story illustrate the whole story of his early life? These stories weave themselves throughout the book, concluding with a final story about her. In many ways, the book is equally about Trevor’s mother. How would you describe Patricia Noah? 

3. A lot of what happens in this story is told with humor, even though many things were very dark. How did you respond to Trevor’s use of humor in telling stories from his youth? How did humor shape his experience growing up and in the man he became? 

4. Noah describes, with hilarious detail, an incident that happened when he was home alone with his great-grandmother (Koko) and didn’t want to use the outhouse. Which incidents, friends, or family members described in Born a Crime are most memorable to you?

5. What was the role of religion in Trevor’s family’s life? How did Patricia’s faith impact young Trevor, and what do you think has been the lasting impression of faith on Trevor Noah’s life?

6. What role does being of mixed race play in Trevor’s life? How did issues of race play out in Noah’s relationships with those closest to him — his mother, father, grandparents, cousins, and friends? 

7. Noah’s mother insists that he have a relationship with his father: “Because he’s a piece of you,’ she said, ‘and if you don’t find him you won’t find yourself.” What did you think about Trevor’s relationship with his biological father, Robert? What was Trevor’s father like? How did you view him as a person? Do you think Trevor liked/felt good about this relationship? (p. 101ff). 

8. What difference did it make that he knew he was wanted and loved by both parents? Pg 110

9. For such a strong, independent woman, who taught Trevor about valuing a woman, why did Patricia marry Abel when she said she wouldn’t consider marrying Trevor’s father? How does Noah describe and wrestle with the issue of domestic violence? How did it affect his view of local authorities and culture?  How did it shape him and his relationship with his mother?

10. How did the story of Fufi and the other boy shape Trevor’s view of relationships? Pg 100

11. In Born a Crime, Noah wants to dispel the idea that the ending of apartheid was bloodless.  How much did you know about apartheid before reading this book, and what did you learn about the history of South Africa by reading Noah’s story? Did you enjoy/appreciate the explanatory material at the start of every section?

12. Noah explains how language defines people and how it can be used to one’s advantage.  (pg 54-55) He argues that English in South Africa is equated with intelligence. Do you agree with Noah’s assessment of the importance of language? What do his claims suggest about the power of language and the values placed on certain languages over others?  Noah learned to speak six different languages growing up. What impressed you about the ways that Trevor and his mother navigate neighborhoods, cultures, and family; and how did language make that possible?

13. Since I belonged to no group I learned to move seamlessly between groups. I was a chameleon, still, a cultural chameleon” (p. 140). How is Trevor like a chameleon? Why does he do this? What benefit or cost is associated with this for him?

14. Where did Trevor fit in? Who accepted him? Why did Trevor always feel like an outsider? How did he cope with that?

15. Do you think he had a “good” life in younger years? Would you say Noah felt he had a good upbringing?

16. Would you recommend this book to others? If there is a follow-up book, will you read it?  Will you watch a film adaptation?

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Let's have a community-celebrating braai like in South Africa...or as close as we can get in Canada in January! :-)  Here are some ideas, feel free to pick one or bring a different one of your choosing...

Biltong as a snack

Mains
Bbq'd meat - beef, chicken, veal, lamb, sausage... Tamara (Peri Peri chicken)
Boerewors
Pap or (samp and beans, which is apparently the Xhosa version)
Chakalaka - Marion
Bobotie
Braaibroodjies
Potjiekos
Durban Chicken Curry (with rice or served in bread, called Bunny Chow)
Salomies

Desserts
melktert - Emily?
Malva pudding - Emily?
Koeksisters
Vetkoek with a sweet twist

Amarula don pedro