I don't read books lately. I used to read a lot in college but I'm afraid the modern life got to me and it's hard to even watch a 5 minute video, let alone read a book. I did try though. Last summer I almost finished that book my sister gave me but... yeah, that didn't turn out well. But when I heard Trevor Noah wrote a book I wanted to read it. It was even better learning there was an audiobook. For some reason, audiobooks have the image of not being "real" books. However, that doesn't really make sense. You get the same content and with this book, you not only get to hear the story from the author, you almost get an audio drama as he narrates all the direct speech with corresponding accents or even languages. And he's great at it.
The book is brilliant. Or maybe that's not the best word as this isn't a novel. This is a life masterfully told. Though it is more than a story of one person's life, more than a story of a family, it is also a story of the nation and this volume makes the story unique. The book deals with so many issues from race to religion to domestic violence. I think different people would feel different things about it. But to me it is ultimately about hope and finding one's purpose, overcoming the hardships against all odds.
Trevor is an amazing storyteller and takes you on an 8 hour trip to his childhood and adolescence and even further back to his mother's life with a brief history of South Africa in between. His way of describing each scene in great detail makes you feel like you've been in those places and almost experiences these events. It really is like a condensed life, life so different from your own. There are funny parts, embarrassing parts and sad parts. I finished listening with a sense of amazement - partly at how someone who looks so easy-going and carefree has had such a hard life, partly at realizing how lucky I was to not know what real hardship is but mostly towards the amazing heroine that is Trevor's mother.