The Ups and Downs of Life in the South African Hood

What I read:  Trevor Noah talks about how when hip-hop from the U.S. came to South Africa it was cool to be from "the Hood."

He started hanging out there and sold pirated CDs.  He and his friends were constantly making and spending money, so they never really got ahead.  He writes, "Hustling is to work what surfing the internet is to reading. If you add up how much you read in a year on the internet - tweet, Facebook posts, lists- you've read the equivalent of a shit ton of book, but in fact you've read no books in a year.  When I look back on it, that's what hustling was.  It's maximal effort put into minimal gain.  It's a hamster wheel.  If I'd put all that energy into studying I'd have earned an MBA.  Instead I was majoring in hustling, something no university would give me a degree for" (Loc 3071).

At one point Trevor is sent to jail for driving a "stolen" car.  The car is not really stolen, it's just unregistered.  Because of this mix-up, though, Trevor gets arrested and spends a week in jail awaiting his trial.  At first he's very scared, then he gets a little comfortable there, and finally he is terrified that the will be sentenced to a longer time in prison.  His mother comes to his rescue.  

In the last chapter of the book, Trevor tells the terrifying story of how his mom got shot in the head by his stepdad.  Miraculously she survived the shooting.  Trevor talks about how his stepdad Abel was abusive to him and to his mother for years before she left him. Some time after she left him, he got a gun and attacked her for not reason.  He even shot her in front of their two sons.

What I thought about:
I thought the chapter about hustling in the hood was really interesting.  Trevor and his friends became like experts in what they did, but because it was petty crime there's no respect from anyone else.  People who study to become professionals get respect from their communities, but Trevor and his buddies were "professionals" at small crimes like pirating CDS.  No one is going to think that's great, though.  It's not a way that they can ever move ahead in their world.

I also thought a lot about domestic abuse when I read these chapters.  I have heard that it's almost more dangerous for a woman after she leaves an abusive husband or boyfriend than it is when she is still with him.  That's what happened to Trevor's mother and it's really frightening to think about.  In the book, that's when it seems like it's finally safe for her, but that's when Abel comes after her and tries to kill her.  It's really sad and scary.  It makes me think about all of the women in the world that are in a situation like this or that have been (Take Rihanna for example).  I hope all these women can be helped before it's too late.


What I conclude:  I learned a lot about apartheid from reading this book.  I also learned a lot about how South Africa was after apartheid ended.  Even though it had so many sad parts, it made me laugh a lot.  Some of the highlights were when he burned down that white person's house and when his friend named Hitler danced at a Jewish school.  While reading it felt like listening to his voice and it felt like a story being told rather than some really heavy factual book.  I really liked that about the book.  I totally recommend this book to anyone who likes Trevor Noah and wants to learn more about his life.  I also recommend it to anyone who is interested in finding out more about South Africa during apartheid.