Travor Noah-Born a Crime(Stories from a south African Childhood)

There are some people who we are met by accident and mesmerized by the way they speak or react to the situation. And on one such afternoon while surfing anti-Trump squad comedians, I found Travor.

I was totally engrossed by his subtle humor and laughing dimples and intelligently dropped jokes, that I spent 2 weeks going (Fangirling) over all his shows available on youtube.

Then I came across his interview with Obama and it just left me speechless with the  whole Travor Aura he was sporting around with president Obama and I just wanted to know who the hell is this man.

And then I had to order his book which recently became New York times no. 1 best seller.

Travor Noah-Born a Crime(Stories from a south African Childhood)

It says “Essential reading… fast paced, funny and inspirational… Travor Noah’s life is all about achieving the impossible” with a wall mural face of laughing Travor on a wall and a African woman staring at him with such an admiration.

Today when I finish his book after two weeks or so, and I look back at its cover again, I feel how appropriate it is for the tale he has to tell. His ruined parts in his mural kind of depicts his difficult and lonely childhood along with the abuse he witnessed and went through, yet his brilliant brown eyes are shiny with a good humored laugh he sports, I feel a sense of envy for his mother and himself for the amazing journey they have been through.

Travor shares his birth story and his mother’s reasons of having a colored child from a Swiss man, he shares his fears and the lessons his mother made him learn as well the ones he learnt through his journey.

 I have been following the whole paradigm shift with the racism in recent year, and as it goes on, being a south African comedian as one of the leading comedy shows is of course an achievement. Travor is of course inspirational for most of his success story, but in the book the whole time you cant forget but admire Patricia , his mother who turns out to be his team mate and the beholder of how his life and thoughts are shaped.

Patricia gives sex lessons and manners to 10 year old Travor , teaches him to behave and makes him a man she wishes he should be. Patricia tries hard in her marriage, and prays for the God beyond any of the obstacles in between, giving hope to Travor by her weird eccentric positivity. Patricia even bails him out of jail, while teaching him valuable lessons along the way and it just blows  your mind.

As how can someone be so positive and creative despite being born into horrific conditions and still hope for the best in future. How can one be so calm and considerate despite being shot in head just few hours ago.

I slowly fell for Travor and his story of achieving the impossible but after having this read, I would say Patricia, his mother is the real hero behind his morals and the reality based opinions.

While I go through the hard moments Travor has when he gets the news that his mother been shot, I missed my own mother terribly and my eyes welled up for his grief. She survives like a miracle and yet praises God for blessing a son like Travor I laughed at their lovely bond and closed the book with a new found respect for him and his mother together.

A Refreshing read after many days!

Travor Noah- Born a Crime…

Some memorable quotes from the book:

If God is with me, who can be against me? She was never scared, even when she should have been…

Don’t cry about the past. Life is full of pain. Let the pain sharpen you, but don’t hold on to it. Don’t be bitter…

She taught me how to think…

Being more of a man doesn’t mean your woman has to be less than you.

Regret is an eternal question you will never have to answer to, “what if…”,”If only…”,”I wonder what would have…”you will never, never known and it will haunt you for the rest of your days.

The richer you are, the more choices you have. That is the freedom of money.

He only wants a woman who is free because his dream is to put her in a cage.

I saw the futility of violence, the cycle that just repeats itself, the damage that’s inflicted on people that they in turn inflict on others.

You don’t have to teach me a lesson twice.

You want to live in a world where someone is good or bad, where you either hate them or love them, but that’s not how people are.

Mercy!

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