Born a Crime

Before Chapter 7 begins, Noah muses about cultural superstition: “I grew up in a black family in a black country. I’ve traveled to other black cities in black countries all over the black continent. And in all that time I’ve yet to find a place where black people like cats” (93). He says that Black people think cats are witches, and that in South Africa Black people have dogs.

In the beginning of Chapter 7, Noah’s mom brings home two beautiful black cats: “In a black neighborhood, you wouldn’t dare own a cat, especially a black cat. That would be like wearing a sign that said, ‘Hello, I am a witch.’ That would be suicide” (95). However, since they’re living in a colored neighborhood, his mom assumes it would be okay. One evening they come home to find the cats skinned and gutted, hanging up by their tails on the front gate, and he decides that “[c]olored people, apparently, were no more progressive than black people on the issue of cats” (96).

Later on, his mom brings home two puppies, Maltese/bull terrier mixes. His mom’s is named Pink Panther and his is Fufi. For the longest time, they think Fufi is dumb, but actually she’s deaf. Fufi regularly jumps over their five-foot fence, and one day, while home for the holidays, Noah follows her. He watches as she runs to another house and jumps the fence. He knocks on the door and tells the family that his dog is in their backyard, but they’re adamant that Fufi is their dog. Apparently, Fufi has been leading two separate lives with two different families. The family refuses to give Fufi back to Noah, until his mom shows up and offers them 100 rand.

Noah considers the effect of Fufi on his life: “Fufi was my first heartbreak. No one has ever betrayed me more than Fufi. It was a valuable lesson to me. The hard thing was understanding that Fufi wasn’t cheating on me with another boy. She was merely living her life to the fullest” (100).

Before Chapter 8 begins, Patricia tells Noah that he needs to find his father: “It’s not about knowing who you are. It’s about him knowing who you are, and you knowing who he is. Too many men grow up without their fathers, so they spend their lives with a false impression of who their father is and what a father should be” (101).

At the beginning of Chapter 8 Noah remarks on the relation of his father to his life: “My father is a complete mystery. There are so many questions about his life that I still cannot even begin to answer” (103). Noah has never met his father’s parents, and only just recently found out that his father has an older sister. While Noah knows little of his dad’s life before he was born, he knows that “[h]e’s very Swiss, clean and particular and precise” (104). He also knows that his father “hates racism and homogeneity more than anything, and not because of any feelings of self-righteousness or moral superiority. He just never understood how white people could be racist in South Africa” (104). Because of this, he always resisted the rules of apartheid and even opened the first integrated restaurant in Johannesburg.

Noah and his father see each other regularly up until Noah turns 13, when his father moves to Cape Town. Although Noah misses his father, time passes quickly and suddenly he’s in his early 20s and becoming a comedian. Despite gaining success rather quickly, he always wonders if his dad ever thinks about him. At 24, Noah decides to track him down. After talking with the Swiss embassy, he receives a letter from his father, and he goes to visit him in Cape Town: “I’ll never forget that day. It was probably one of the weirdest days of my life, going to meet a person I knew yet did not know at all. My memories of him felt just out of reach” (109). They end up picking up right where they left off.