Moab Is My Washpot

A very moving account of an internationally famous actor and public intellectual's childhood and adolescence in English 'public' (i.e.private) boarding schools. The territory is largely familiar, but what marks this book off from most others is the explicit and courageous way in which Fry writes about "growing up gay". He also uses some very explicit language, but very little that is gratuitous. It will be of great comfort to every adolescent who ever felt "odd" or not a member of the "in-crowd". The comfort lies in Fry's honesty about his sexuality, and that he never allowed this to cripple his growth to what D H Lawrence once called "spontaneous creative fullness of being". Though parents may raise eyebrows or objections to some of the content, this is a profoundly warm, human and healing book.

Moab is my WashpotBy Stephen FryFive starsThe basic reaction I had as I finished Stephen Fry’s autobiographical “Moab is my Washpot” was: Would Stephen Fry like me?I’m not usually quite this narcissistic, but I couldn’t help but feel that Fry was someone I wished I knew, someone quite remarkable, and yet palpably flawed and human in ways that provoked forgiveness.Against all better judgment, I rather fell in love with him.This should be honestly described as a partial-autobiography, since it only takes the famous British comic actor from birth to about the age of twenty. Given that he’s just two years younger than I am, there’s a lot of his life left undiscovered at the end of this book. But the part he writes is in equal parts hilarious and hair-raising.Apologetic and unrepentant, Fry’s helter-skelter narrative describes to us exactly how he managed to bugger up his life without any help from his parents (who, if eccentric and quirky, were adoring and as patient as saints). Much better, from my point of view, than the fictionalized version of his early life offered in “The Liar,” “Moab is my Washpot” is a wry confessional in which the author admits freely what a twat he is while at the same time making the reader (at least this one) want to hold him tightly and promise that everything will turn out all right.As an American, I barely knew who Stephen Fry was, since the larger part of his most celebrated comedy never appeared on American television (unlike his best friend and comic partner Hugh Laurie, who became a household word through the television drama series “House”). As a gay man, I know rather more about him, both for his outspoken support of LGBT rights and more recently for his pending nuptials to a far younger man.There is a certain perverse David Copperfield quality to this book, Oliver Twist with a twist. It is an epic saga of a life lived in desperation; desperation probably caused by an awareness of his homosexuality and inability to deal with it in healthy ways. This in itself points to the difficulty of growing up gay in the world of the 1950s, 60s and 70s (whether British or American) with very little support of any kind. Adorably, Fry does not point the finger of blame—he insists, amusingly and convincingly, that getting caned at boarding school did nothing to damage his psyche. All the stereotypical nightmarishness of the British public school system is carefully shunted aside as possible cause for Fry’s ill-behavior. He blames only himself, but in doing so embraces the general darkness of the world in his youth as the root cause of his excesses and his disastrous spiral into thievery and prison.He even makes prison sound sort of amusing.Writing honestly is difficult. Being funny about writing honestly is near miraculous. I loved this book and admire Fry deeply for unleashing it on the world.

Being a big fan of Stephen Fry and having read The Fry Chronicles, I was looking forward to reading about his life from birth to 20. Unfortunately, the book was a little disappointing. Although he talks about a range of his experiences, there is an over-emphasis on his sexuality. This may be because his sexuality had the most influence on his life, at least he certainly seems to think so. For the reader though, the talk of sexual experiences, described in rather unnecessarily explicit detail (and no, I'm not a prude), becomes rather tedious and seems to be an attempt to shock rather than inform. Added to that, the language used is unnecessary, both in terms of vulgarity and understandability. Most people I know would have great difficulty understanding what on earth he was talking about half the time because his choice of words are at too high a level for the average reader. I have a fairly broad grasp of the English language but I occasionally had to reach for the dictionary myself. Vulgar language doesn't make me blush, however, Fry's coarse language gives an overall impression that he is trying to pretend he isn't the posh snob that many people might think he is.I read Moab Is My Washpot with the expectation that I would gain an understanding of how Fry's past has shaped him but instead I felt that I had been bombarded with excuses and justifications for his obnoxious behaviour in his early years. My overall impression of the book is that Fry would have us believe that he is not a posh snob but just an everyday guy, with an emotionally traumatic background, but don't think him too everyday and ordinary. He wants to make sure we all know how brilliantly clever he is while attempting to appear humble. If that is the case, it didn't work for me. I don't doubt his sincerity when voicing his regrets about most of his appalling behaviours but this book seems too much like an ego-trip and not enough like a sincerely written autobiography of his early years.

I can only wish I was even 10% as good a writer as Stephen Fry.The book was a thoroughly good read and for someone like me who is very much from a working class background it was fascinating being brought into the world of public boarding schools which Stephen re-created with superb attention to detail that boggles the mind how he can remember it all.I admire his warts and all description of his childhood and the various characters that he encountered in his family and school life. I loved the stories of his various naughty school boy turned criminal endeavours.I was surprised to find that although I am not homophobic I would normally seek to avoid graphic detail of homosexual encounters but even with such a sensitive subject matter was written it such a superb fashion that it was interesting. I was actually quite well emotional would be the only word to describe it regarding what appeared to be the love of his life and the one that got away and I thank Stephen for helping me see homosexuals in a different light that rightly or wrongly I didn't consider before.I bought this book on a whim as I normally detest autobiographies and I am delighted I did. I found myself going to bed earlier than normal just so I could read this book rather than using a book as a sleep aid which is normally the case.As soon as I finished this book I immediately purchased the next instalment which is good but not as good as this one and will be the subject of a different review.Do yourself a favour no matter what age, sex or sexual persuasion you are this book is a fantastic, funny, at times sad and just superbly written book.

I gave it three stars because I’m a big Fry fan but I’m not sure it really deserved them. It was certainly honest but only revealed him to be a massive ball of insecurities, same as the rest of us. He freely acknowledges that he had a privileged upbringing and there was no excuse for his appalling behaviour, though he hints at sugar addiction and adhd, neither of which really explain the stealing. I suppose, like many people, he was an obnoxious toad when young and largely grew out of it.

I have come to this book rather late having already read its sequel, The Fry Chronicles, two years ago. The Fry Chronicles, in my opinion, is a much better book and Moab Is My Washpot, a book that I had been meaning to read for years, was never going to live up to my expectations. If you have read any of Stephen Fry's other books, both fictional and autobiographical, you will know that his writing tends to drift off topic and that is especially true of this book and I found it irritating. Also irritating are the endless protestations that all was sweetness and light throughout his childhood, written alongside detailed accounts of loneliness, beatings at school and his difficult relationship with his father. The later stages of the book, from his time at Uppingham School onward, are much more interesting, which I suppose is inevitable as the recollections are bound to be clearer, and let us be honest, very few people can claim to have had an interesting childhood. Whatever you think of the frankly dreadful behaviour of the adolescent version of Stephen Fry, one cannot help but admire his honesty in recounting it in every detail. Personally, I could have done with a bit less detail in certain areas. He really holds nothing back. I hope he felt better for writing it.

I bought the "The Fry Chronicles" from Audible but decided not to listen to them till I had read "Moab is my Washpot" which is a prequel. At that time Moab is my Washpot was not available from Audible so I bought it for my Kindle.I started reading the book on my Kindle and then during an Audible Sale found that Moab is my Washpot had become available from Audible, read of course by Stephen Fry himself (£17-99 but I bought it as my monthly credit so only £7-99).Stephen Fry talks very quickly when narrating "Moab is my Washpot" but it is still over 11 hours of speech. Probably if he had not spoken as quickly the book could have been twice as long and cost twice as much.It covers from early childhood, through Prep School and on to his public school. Unfortunately an addiction to sugar led from overeating to theft for cash to buy the sweets and later cigarettes. Getting caught, expulsion from school and on to others where forever in trouble, truanting etc. Finally this led to theft and the law. A period on remand, found guilty and luckily not a prison sentence and he had learned his lesson.Stephen gritted his teeth and pulled himself together, working hard and passing exams.I really admired his honesty about his schooling, sexuality and criminal behaviour. The book made me admire the man even more.The follow-up autobiography "The Fry Chronicles" is from before being accepted for University and getting his degree despite being involved in various entertainment societies and appearing at Edinburgh. Not sure where the follow up chronicles end as I have not finished listening to them yet (just over 12 hours £13-99.).In the Chronicles Stephen does not narrate as fast as in Moab is my Washpot though he does name drop a lot of course. From public school to prison on remand to appearing on television. Even a person not a fan should read or listen to these books, the man truly has my admiration."Moab is my Washpot" is Text to Speech enabled but unfortunately the robotic voice bears no comparison to listening to Stephen Fry himself.I listen to Audible books on my laptop. I can sit across the room with eyes closed while I listen or I can download on to my mp3 player to take out with me.I understand you can download an audible book on to a Kindle with sound, I have not tried this yet. I have listened to audible books on a Kindle Fire and the quality of sound is excellent.

`Moab is My Washpot' is Stephen fry's first autobiography and amongst it's humour and wonderfully descriptive prose lays a real insight into Fry and his character.It rambles along in a not unpleasant way and he will often start an anecdote, become sidetracked and then come back to the original story some pages later. This adds a certain charm and direct quality to his style and what he is imparting (as if he is directly recounting it to you and gets waylaid by his own thoughts), but it can get a little confusing in places as he goes off on tangents. This style makes you fully appreciate his raconteur moniker as he meanders though his life experiences.This recounts the tales of his childhood in boarding school, his first homosexual experiences, his pranks and japes, his adolescent angst and early experiences with depression. It is extremely well written (as we'd expect from Fry) and is charming, funny, brutally honest and heartfelt. You also get a feel for his regret at some of his past behaviour and understand why he behaved as he did.I like how he relates how what he experienced as a child formed his opinions as an adult and he is not shy in expounding his ideals in the pages of this book. Most of them make a great deal of sense and in today's sanitised, politically correct society, makes for refreshing and common sense reading. I am thinking specifically here about his ideas on sexuality in general and our own/societies feelings/guilt etc on it.This has some photos in a middle plate section which show him as a child and young man which illustrate the various stages of his life well. Overall this is a highly readable, entertaining, insightful, if not slightly rambling autobiography from one our nations most beloved entertainers and I most heartily recommend it.Feel free to check out my blog which can be found on my profile page.