This is a book that is powerful because its engrossing, fast paced, entertaining, humorous at times, and yet totally gives you a new perspective on SoThis is a book that is powerful because its engrossing, fast paced, entertaining, humorous at times, and yet totally gives you a new perspective on South Africa. Also, you have to listen to it on audio as Trevor narrates it himself and does everyone in South African accents that makes it so much more real.
South Africa is not a place I know much about, but I feel like I know it better now. Growing up in Apartheid as a coloured person (half white was apparently its own race) sounded extremely tough. As did surviving in the hood as a hustler, getting thrown in jail for "stealing" your father in laws car, and so many of the amazing adventures he described.
But what I most appreciated was how he really attributed so much to his mother, who was a tough, independent women who didn't let him believe that his destiny wasn't in his own hands. That seemed like the major thing that set him apart, and I loved reading all the build-up to that. Highly recommended! ...more
A fascinating and heart-wrenching look inside a slum of Mumbai. A good reminder some of us have it much better than others - but also that human willpA fascinating and heart-wrenching look inside a slum of Mumbai. A good reminder some of us have it much better than others - but also that human willpower still matters.
One of the most interesting things portrayed was just how different the rules are for the poor in India. When your family is one bad hospital bill away from being on the streets and starving, human life takes a different value. The story that stuck with me here is when one of the boys got hit by a car on his way to school, his mothers reaction was fury - because if it were any worse it would have bankrupted the family. This quote sums it up well:
Another way the rules are different is that the government is totally corrupt. Pretty hard to get ahead when everyone who can bribe you has got their hand out.
But my favorite part of the book was seeing how entrepreneurial people had to be in order to survive. Whether its sorting garbage, being a garbage middleman, or any of the other pursuits various people did to make money, it seemed that at least in one respect the rules of the slum are the same as everywhere else: you've got to work hard and be good at what you do to get ahead. It's just that in the slum, it's so easy to lose it all. Poverty begets poverty, wealth begets wealth. ...more
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