Review: Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood

Growing up, Comedy Central's The Daily Show was popular weeknight viewing in my house. My Dad was not only a fan of Jon Stewart, but all of the other correspondents on the show, including John Oliver, Samantha Bee, and Jessica Williams, who have gone on to their own comedy projects and careers. When Stewart stepped away from the spotlight, we weren't as invested in the program, but nowadays, my sisters and I are sure to share show clips between us when the highlight reels from the night before pop up on Twitter. 

I didn't know much about the show's new host, Trevor Noah, but this book had come highly recommended, so I figured, why not give it a shot? 

Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood, details comedian Trevor Noah's experiences growing up in racially divided, post-apartheid South Africa. From getting preferential treatment from older relatives for his light skin, to becoming a cultural "chameleon" drifting between social groups, from the sacrifices his mother made to send him to private schools, to the chaotic means by which a cash-strapped Trevor would go to make money, these stories are reflective of the unique circumstances of his upbringing, told with his signature tongue-in-cheek humor, and plenty of heart. 

Noah takes great pains to provide vital historical context to the culture and racial climate of South Africa within his stories. I know little about South Africa's history or culture - beyond that one Disney Channel movie from the '00s - but Noah gave many examples of accessible personal perspective to bridge the gaps in understanding. His brief asides, sandwiched in between each chapter, added informative context to his personal anecdotes, and hinted at what might be contained within the stories to come, be it references to the many cultural tribes within South Africa, the construction of their education system, or the limits of the city's many borders.

His style made the reach between differing countries and cultures a little shorter, too. He is known best for being a comedian, but he is also a truly beautiful writer. The stories maintained quite a bit of the humor that you might expect from such an established stand-up artist, but they were also evocative, emotionally charged in places, and wonderfully descriptive in others. His voice kept the book moving along with a conversational clip, even when recounting stories others would not find as relatable. 

The life he describes truly is remarkable, as well. The book opens with his experience of having to flee one of South Africa's many unchartered minibuses, thrown out of a moving vehicle while his mom tucked and rolled beside him, after one of the drivers started to get threatening. The anecdotes that follow exhibit everything from poverty, to selling bootleg CDs and stolen goods, domestic violence, and more, but at no point does Noah get bogged down or deterred from his primary goal: telling a good story. This is his ownership of his life, and the many intriguing and remarkable facets of it, and he acknowledges complete acceptance of all that he's experienced.

In total, the book is exactly what the title suggests, which I appreciated: stories of his growth and experience, told through the particular lens of a light-skinned kid growing up in a post-apartheid South Africa. He skims over most of the extraneous parts, including his adulthood, his rise to a prominent comedian glossed over with bare explanations, in lieu of focusing specifically in elements of his younger years that were particularly formative. He didn't write this book to talk about how he built his career, he's talking about how the world gave him character! And quite a character indeed.

Final verdict: Moving, conversational, and fascinating in its ability to intersperse personal anecdotes with cultural connections, Trevor Noah's Born a Crime features unique life experiences and stories well-told. A great example of how reading can bring about greater understanding, I feel like I gained more from this book than just a few hours of entertainment!

What's your favorite comedian memoir? Are you a fan of Noah's work? Let me know, in the comments below!

Review: The Book of Joan: Tales of Mirth, Mischief, and Manipulation

It's no secret that celebrity memoirs are often one of my favorite sources of reading material. It's equally apparent, when looking at my reading habits and frequent recommendations, that there's nothing better in my book, than the book of a very funny lady. The best of both were combined in this surprisingly moving and equally hilarious account by Melissa Rivers, of her life with her comedy star mother, Joan. 

I was always a big fan of Joan Rivers, and would often watch Fashion Police not for any of the actual sartorial commentary, but just because her humor made up such a significant part of it. This remembrance of her, told by her daughter Melissa, contains so much of that spark of irrepressible humor that was so quintessentially Joan. Funny, loving, and laced with enough struggle between strong personalities to remind you of your own relationship with your parents, I really enjoyed reading about Melissa's fond memories of her mother. And just in time for Mother's Day!

Melissa described her efforts in writing this book, were primarily to create something that would make her mother laugh. As such, the book is sprinkled throughout with not only the late Rivers' original style of humor, but also an attempt at replicating it by her daughter. 

The effect of this is sweet, but still a little odd. In the relationship, Melissa was always the straight man - something she openly cops to in the book - so to see her attempt to take on her mother's comedy mantle is a little difficult, because the humor doesn't exactly transfer. However, I don't think it was her trying to start a new kind of career in comedy, it was definitely in honor of Joan.

The style of humor itself, being Joan's, was almost kind of retro. In today's humor environment of shock comics on television and the movies, political satire blowing up in response to the current insane political climate, and whatever the hell kind of humor we're getting from the Internet - especially YouTube - Mrs. Rivers' kind of comedy, with a straightforward format, a diagram-able buildup to a punchline, and tongue-in-cheek meanness, comes off as quietly nostalgic. No one tells jokes like these anymore... and maybe that's because Joan Rivers isn't around to tell them.

The look into her personal life was sweet and hilarious. Joan Rivers was exactly the person you saw on screen when she was back at home: a workaholic who exaggerated the truth and didn't suffer fools kindly, this sharp broad was also a terrible driver, a stickler for manners with the kind of deadpan sarcasm that could flatten a bus, who loved junk food and jewelry, and hated sports. She lived unapologetically as herself, and that personal bravery has clearly made an impact on her daughter.

The one thing that threw me a little bit, were the repeated jokes within the book of how Melissa is now out of a job, and hopes to work for various influential people in Hollywood, often to the point of being a little subservient about it. On one hand, this is just like her mother's often self-deprecating style - one of the reason Joan dealt criticisms so openly, was because she paved the way by mocking herself first - but it was still a little sad: so much of Melissa's life and career was shaped around that of bolstering her mother's, so now she's having to manage her own way with Joan gone.

By the time I reached the end, I thought I could have read this in one afternoon, had I been less busy. Well-organized, and constructed in a pattern that makes sense, the overall story of the two's relationship is incredibly easy to read, and  Rivers' passion for grammar makes for a book that just flows easily.

Final Verdict: This remembrance of a comedy legend would have been just the kind of thing Joan Rivers would have loved. A humorous, caring reflection on the life of one of America's original funny ladies, by someone who absolutely knew her best, fans of hers should take an afternoon to indulge in this quick read.

What is your favorite celebrity memoir, of either themselves, or another? Who's your favorite celebrity mother-daughter pair? Let me know, in the comments below!

Top Ten Favorite Books By Comedians (and Comedy Writers)

"Top Ten Tuesday" is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by The Broke and the Bookish!

When I saw today's Top Ten Tuesday topic - "Top Ten All-Time Favorite Books of X Genre" - I was thrown for a bit of a loop. My first inclinations sent me towards the kinds of genres I've been reading all summer, like "high fantasy" or "comic books," but both of those categories are way too broad in scope to summarize in just one list!

It was only after I saw a recommendation to think about sub-genres that I knew what I wanted to do... because if there's anything I love, it's funny people! Even, perhaps, when they're not being quite so funny. Here are my Top Ten Favorite Books By Comedians (and Comedy Writers!).


Amy Poehler - Yes Please
We already know to expect everything from zany antics to straight-shot zingers from this effervescent blond SNL alum, but this semi-memoir, semi-collection of essays from Tina Fey's comedy wife still managed to catch me off guard.

Steve Martin - Born Standing Up and An Object of Beauty
To be honest, one of my favorite things about comedians, is they know that there's more to life than laughing. The memoir Born Standing Up provides a little levity from Martin's past - like his time spent working in Disneyland to doing gigs on the road - but also includes the shadows that make the brightness of his humor so vibrant. On the other hand, the fictional novel An Object of Beauty illustrates a young New York unrequited romance, oriented around one of his non-comedy passions, curating and collecting fine art!

Mindy Kaling - Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me and Why Not Me? 
While the titles of her books might make it sound like Kaling gets a little left out, that couldn't be less true: this television darling fills her memoirs with accounts of a life lived surrounded by plenty of friends, many of whom she has found along her comedy journey! Including this next author...

BJ Novak - One More Thing: Stories and Other Stories
This Office alum and television writer wunderkind saves some of his best work for this hilarious short story collection. All of them will make you laugh... but some will also make you think, and that's what really matters.

Bo Burnham - Egghead
Straight from one of my sister's first serious celebrity crushes, this collection of poetry matches Shel Silverstein rhyme schemes with the same kind of humor that made What. and Make Happy such smash hits on the standup scene.

Sloane Crosley - I Was Told There'd Be Cake
This journalist junkie may never have explicitly set out to become a comedy writer, but with this collection of essays, she was catapulted into the comedy market, especially because her second collection - How Did You Get This Number - is rumored to be just as funny as her first. And if you've already read both of those, then don't worry! She's done pieces in The New York Times, The Village Voice, GQ, Elle, NPR... 

Kelly Oxford - Everything's Perfect When You're a Liar
This serial blogger and truly prolific tweeter originally found fame in the big blue Twittersphere, but her humor is even more funny when stretched beyond 140 characters, something easily apparent in this 2013 bestseller.

SNL Cast, Crew, and More - Live from New York: An Uncensored History of Saturday Night Live
James A. Miller and Tom Shales edited together this compilation of stories from behind the scenes of one of television's most enduring and loved comedy juggernauts. Including everything from drug use, to terrible hosts, and cross-cast personal vendettas, across the show's extensive history, this kind of work really needs no introduction.

What's in YOUR Top Ten? Let me know, in the comments below!

Review: One More Thing: Stories and Other Stories

Unpopular opinion time: I'm not a huge fan of The Office. My family used to watch it together - not even in real time, when it was still on TV, but after purchasing those huge, clunky collection of DVDs each season! I'd usually wander out of the room ten minutes into each episode to go upstairs and find a less cringe-inducing form of entertainment, like a good book... so it's highly ironic how two of the show's stars - Mindy Kaling and BJ Novak - would end up being two of my favorite writers! 

I've had Novak's One More Thing: Stories and Other Stories, on the shelves for a long time, simply because short story collections have never really been my cup of tea. However, after tackling Kaling's Why Not Me? this past April, I knew I was going to have to bump it up in my TBR queue. I'm so glad I did: what I found was a perfectly balanced blend of levity and brevity, and I zipped through the whole collection in one night!

So, in reviewing, let's start by tackling the obvious: this book is supremely funny. Like, catch-yourself-laughing-out-loud, Snapchatting-pictures-of-pages-to-my-sister funny. However, even beyond the silly and subversive, it's also the kind of humor that knows exactly how it's making you laugh, in a subtle and almost tongue-in-cheek way: the funny is found without the self-knowing moments of a punchline in a comedy act, but more like a friend just telling you a really hilarious story over drinks. I guess I could say that it was more of conversation, than strictly comedy; just very understated, almost like it's winking at you about it at the same time it's laying out the joke.

The stories are, of course, of varying lengths, and also contain varying levels of comedy. Some are a little more edgy and gasp-inducing, while others are almost existential, making you really consider the theming and how it plays with the rest of the narratives around them. It was really some of those secondary types of stories that caught my attention: it's easy to make someone laugh, but not as easy to make someone think while they're doing it. Thought you might even be tempted to skip around the book a little for the ones you really want to read first, you're going to end up reading them all, and laugh at least a little at each (even those that are a little more on the long side).

And, of course, the cerebral nature of some of Novak's comedy really forces you to acknowledge the fact that he is smart. Not just clever in how he constructs each narrative, or how he arranges them in the greater pacing of the collection, but intelligent in choice of subject matter and style of writing (without coming off as pretentious). Also, his ability to craft an arc over the course of the entirety of the collection is superb: characters and highlights from one story might end up in another one several dozen pages later, while the flows between the subject matter of each tale never got me bogged down within the context of the work as a whole.


Final Verdict: Let's be real, we all knew this book was going to be hilarious, simply from the absolute perfection of the book trailer alone. I am incredibly impressed and look forward to reading more of his work... and I can totally see why he and Mindy Kaling are such amazing friends!


You guys... I haven't done a review - and honest-to-goodness, full-length review - since I tackled Patrick Ness' The Rest of Us Just Live Here this past May! Have you missed them? Let me know, in the comments below!