English comprehension is equated with intelligence. “If you’re black in South Africa,” he writes, “speaking English is the one thing that can give you a leg up. This was a deliberate choice from his Xhosa mother, to give him more opportunities later in life. Noah was raised speaking English as his first language. Finally, the duo would head to a “passionate, cathartic” black church, where the service would last for three to four hours and sometimes feature pastors casting demons out of the congregants. Next they went to an “analytical” white church, where Noah attended Sunday school and became enthralled by the stories of the Bible – he claims that he always won the Bible quizzes at Sunday school, and that he can still quote anything from the Old Testament and the Gospels, chapter and verse. Noah’s mother was very religious, and she felt that each of the churches “gave her something different.” They started the day at a “jubilant” mixed-race church, a suburban megachurch with an ex-bodybuilder for a pastor, where the music was contemporary Christian rock and the words were displayed, karaoke-style, on a jumbotron. Noah had a very religious childhood, attendeding three churches every Sunday. Even longtime fans are likely to learn new tidbits about Noah in this memoir: Here are seven things we discovered about him. The book is clearly written with an American audience in mind, at times explaining the history of South Africa and apartheid and comparing it to the U.S.’s own history of oppression and race relations. His new book of the same name, subtitled Stories From a South African Childhood covers the same ground in much more (often horrific) detail.

One of this earlier stand-up shows, “Born a Crime,” focused on his childhood as a mixed-race kid in apartheid-era South Africa, where his parents were not allowed to be seen in public together and he struggled to fit in with any group because of his race and background.

When Trevor Noah was announced as the host of The Daily Show last year, he was an unknown to many Americans, despite having established himself as a stand-up megastar across Africa and gaining a following around the world. NEW YORK, NY - NOVEMBER 15: Trevor Noah discusses Born A Crime with Michelle Miller at 92nd Street Y on Novemin New York City.

Trevor noah memoir