"The compelling, inspiring, and comically sublime story of one man's coming-of-age, set during the twilight of apartheid and the tumultuous days of freedom that followed"--Back cover. Noah's path from apartheid South Africa to the desk of the Daily Show began with a criminal act: his birth. Born to a white Swiss father and a black Xhosa mother, at the time such a union was punishable by five years in prison. As he struggles to find himself in a world where he was never supposed to exist, his mother is determined to save her son from the cycle of poverty, violence, and abuse that would ultimately threaten her own life. With an incisive wit and unflinching honesty, Noah weaves together a moving yet funny portrait of a boy making his way through a damaged world in a dangerous time.

"Originally published in hardcover in the United States by Spiegel & Grau, an imprint of Random House, a division of Penguin Random House LLC, in 2016"--Title page verso.

I. Run -- Born a crime -- Trevor, pray -- Chameleon -- The second girl -- Loopholes -- Fufi -- Robert -- II. The mulberry tree -- A young man's long, awkward, occasionally tragic, and frequently humiliating education in affairs of the heart, part I: Valentine's Day -- Outsider -- A young man's long, awkward, occasionally tragic, and frequently humiliating education in affairs of the heart, part II: The crush -- Colorblind -- A young man's long, awkward, occasionally tragic, and frequently humiliating education in affairs of the heart, part III: The dance -- III. Go Hitler! -- The cheese boys -- The world doesn't love you -- My mother's life -- Acknowledgments.