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Stephen Fry

Moab Is My Washpot Kindle Edition

by Stephen Fry (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

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______________________________
The original bestselling autobiography by comedian, novelist and national treasure Stephen Fry.

Few people serve time in prison before studying at Cambridge. You might be surprised to know that Stephen Fry is one of them.

Moab is My Washpot, the remarkable story of Stephen Fry's tumultuous early life, is by turns funny, shocking, tender, delicious, sad, lyrical, bruisingly frank and addictively readable.

It's the story of a boy sent to a boarding school 200 miles from home at the age of seven, who survives beatings, misery, love, ecstasy, carnal violation, expulsion, imprisonment, criminal conviction, probation and catastrophe to emerge, at eighteen, ready to try and face the world in which he had always felt a stranger.

Fry writes with the wit and warmth which have become his hallmark, but with shocking candour too. For anyone seeking to understand one of Britain's greatest cultural treasures, this book is utterly essential reading.

Print length

448 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Cornerstone Digital
Publication date

22 February 2011
File size

3865 KB
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Review

One of the most poignant, funny, intelligent, frank and horribly addictive books you're likely to read all year ― Sunday Telegraph

A remarkable, perhaps even unique, exercise in autobiography ... that aroma of authenticity that is the point of all great autobiographies: of which his, I rather think, is one ― Evening Standard

Stephen Fry is one of the great originals ... This autobiography of his first twenty years is a pleasure to read, mixing outrageous acts with sensible opinions in bewildering confusion ... That so much outward charm, self-awareness and intellect should exist alongside behaviour that threatened to ruin the lives of innocent victims, noble parents and Fry himself, gives the book a tragic grandeur and lifts it to classic status ― Financial Times

He writes superbly about his family, about his homosexuality, about the agonies of childhood ... some of his bursts of simile take the breath away ... his most satisfying and appealing book so far ― Observer

This is one of the most extraordinary and affecting biographies I have read . . . Stephen is . . . painfully honest when trying to grapple with his ever-present demons, and often, as you might expect, very funny ― Daily Mail

The writing is rhapsodic, intoxicated and very touching ― Mail on Sunday

[A] wonderful, self-lacerating autobiography ― Humphrey Carpenter, Sunday Times

He has produced a remarkable autobiography . . . It makes gripping, sometimes unbearably sad, sometimes confusing reading . . . exhilarating, humane, zany, literary ― Spectator

No one can make you feel quite like Stephen Fry can . . . Funny and tormentedly frank ― Time Out

Hugely enjoyable . . . compulsively readable . . . Fry is excellent on the details of memory, too, and always able to embellish them with effortless erudition . . . this engaging, engrossing read is as honest a portrait of a young liar as one could hope to read ― Scotsman

He is bubbly, funny and charming, and he gives his fans plenty of material if they want to speculate on why he is both so gifted and so wayward ― The Times

The jokes . . . transcend the complexes of the joker, turning the Stephenesque into a national as well as a family treasure ― Guardian

Not so much an autobiography, more a way of life; discursive, funny, sometimes almost unbelievably sad, opinionated, nostalgic and very infectious ― Claire Rayner, New Statesman

Fry can be funny about anything ― Good Book Guide

So charming and so acute that one cannot help forgiving him ― Daily Express --This text refers to the paperback edition.

Book Description

The original bestselling autobiography by the comedian, novelist and national treasure, Stephen Fry. --This text refers to the paperback edition.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0045JKEPI
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Cornerstone Digital (22 February 2011)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 3865 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Print length ‏ : ‎ 448 pages

Best Sellers Rank: 207,770 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- 57 in Media & Communications Business
- 106 in LGBTQ+ Biographies & Memoirs
- 266 in LGBTQ+ Biographies (Books)

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Top reviews from Australia

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Revealing

Reviewed in Australia on 26 May 2014

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This honest account of Steven Fry's early years will provide his fans with the essence of the Steven Fry of today. His rather rambling narrative contains much of interest.

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JuliaO

No holds barred autobiography

Reviewed in Australia on 17 September 2015

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Stephen Fry has a way with words and I love his command of language. He is genius and bloody funny as well. Highly recommended

Reviewed in Australia on 12 May 2014

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As much as I admire the author, this book was poorly written and disjointed. Perhaps a ghost writer may have helped.

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Lee Emerson

Autobiography as Therapy

Reviewed in Australia on 8 April 2015

As a huge Stephen Fry fan I was keen to read this book.
Whilst his sometimes cringeworthy candour borders on self-indulgence, his honesty in recounting his feelings of alienation during his school days should resonate with many of his readers - it certainly did with me!

Essentially Fry's story is about self-discovery and self-acceptance. By revealing his manipulative dark-side it's almost as if the author is challenging us his audience to see what a truly unlikeable rotter he was (and by implication is).

And of course his ultimate conceit is that he knows full-well that we (his fans), will love him even more for sharing his fallibilities with us. "Moab is my Washpot" is proof that an autobiographical work can be therapeutic not just for its readers but maybe for its author as well!

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Understanding myself through Stephen Fry

Reviewed in Australia on 19 June 2020

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Listening to and on occasion reading through this autobiography has given me many hours of pleasure and handed me many pages where but for the name go I. Not that my early life remotely resembled Stephens but in the way his brain ticks over. There was a familiarity in his thinking and writing style that struck a cord and connected me to the narrative. I felt the highs and lows and appreciated the moral outrages that he expressed as though he had stripped them directly from my cerebellum. Hearing his story though audio in his voice made the whole experience even better and when I was just reading I kept that voice in my head. It ended too soon for me and will gladly follow this with some of his other books with audio a must have addition.

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Top reviews from other countries

The Very Angry Maker

Wonderful Book. Loved every page

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 20 April 2015

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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.

17 people found this helpful

Derick Parsons

Meh

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 7 October 2021

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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.

E. A. Banks

A bit too personal, even for an autobiography

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 5 September 2014

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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.

5 people found this helpful

Boydie

Not sure what to say

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 9 January 2021

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It is hard to say what I think about this book. I could relate to large parts of it and, indeed, highlighted many parts of it. I also got through it quickly - it was a page turner, very well written with that wonderful command that Fry has of English, and interesting. I’m just not sure I enjoyed the story. Perhaps because I struggle this the self destructive decisions and actions and, I suppose, sublime luck which carried him through. I am a fan of Fry. I think his description of himself as the anti-hero of his story is apt.

K. A. Newton

The childhood and teens.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 21 March 2013

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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.

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