Trevor Noah’s autobiographical “stories” read like reminiscences. There are moments of wit, and some startling descriptions of life under apartheid.

 It is an especially brilliant audiobook performance from the author as well. There would’ve been no one more qualified or better able to read his work aloud than himself.

There is very little reportage but plenty of storytelling in this book. It is a sort of rags to riches story, but it focuses on what was important in Noah’s memories, rather than what the reader might expect. Raised by his mother in the unbelievable environment of South Africa at the time. I was more interested in the setting than I was in his awkward years, trying to talk to girls, go to dances, and get in with the crowd at parties and school. But he is relating the details of his life to reveal the incredibly valuable perspective he has gained. I had very little understanding of apartheid and didn’t even know who Trevor Noah was until someone recommended this to me. I guess I need to watch more television???

The vivid depictions of his mother, the communities he interacted with and the most complicated race politics I’ve ever read about combine to forma memorable picture of another part of the world most Americans can gain from exploring. It is an easy read, but challenging in the difficult circumstances it confronts you with. Sure he is witty, but his sense of humor wouldn’t have been enough to engage me without the unfamiliar territory he described. I am not a nonfiction reader by nature, and this still appealed to my thirst for literary entertainment. It’s hard to imagine true poverty, living in America, where our brand of poverty is having to eat at McDonalds because the other restaurants are too expensive. In this memoir, McDonalds WAS the expensive restaurant.

Trevor Noah has obviously gained a following. I only hope that my review, buried under thousands of ecstatic, more qualified reviewers, converts a few more people into trying this important book.