Moab Is My Washpot

If you like Stephen Fry (and who doesn't) you'll like this auto-biographical account of Stephen's early years. It's an honest tale of childhood and teenage memories and Stephen talks openly about his upbringing and misconducts in a way that you don't expect to hear from such a public figure. And you can't help but respect him the more for it.
I looked forward to my commute each day simply to hear the next instalment of this clearly narrated book.

This book is also a tale of how, with enough determination, it is possible to turn your life around.

Highly Recommended.

Fry has used this first autobiography to exorcise cohorts of personal demons while offering short guided tours into the dark labyrinth of a genius mind.
I found it both fascinating and disturbing, and like another reviewer could hardly bear to put it down.
Fry writes brilliantly for most of the time. Some of his descriptive passages take on a beauty of their own.

But prepare to ride along with Fry the fox, Fry the weasel, and Fry the most honest and open human being imaginable. Look as close as you might but there are few signs of the genial and donnish presenter of QI to come.

He takes the trend in many recent autobiographies of opening the heart to the world a good deal further. He lays his entrails on the table and dissects in excruciating detail with verbal tweezers, sparing us nothing.
There is a road map of sorts through his school days but prepare for him sometimes to stray off the track, creating turgid pools of quotes, lists and vile rants.

Understanding his well publicised battle with bi-polarity helps separate the parts written while in pits of despair from those soaring the peaks of creative ecstasy. On difficult days at his word processor I could feel him seeking inspiration in lists and details from treasured publications to fill his daily quota. I could also sense those ecstatic days where genius and supreme command of language and writing flowed effortlessly.

In this book expect a journey through guilt and self loathing. Expect too, some analysis of his sexuality, short dissertations on male beauty and begin to understand his yearnings to love and be loved.
Some passages might reasonably be described as essays in trivia in which he takes a subject and reduces it to its basic constituents, biting into it furiously from every direction and worrying it to death.

All that said, I loved the book and respect the man even more having got to understand him better, this time from the inside.

I can think of nothing better than listening to this author narrating a book about the events and perils of his early life. Frank, sometimes toe curling, often laugh out loud funny but never dull. Every fan of audiobooks should own this.

This is one of those books that just has to be read by the author to do it justice. Fry reads this book passionately and emotionally, naturally using the English language to it's best extent. Fry cuts through each sentence in a beautifully poetic way!

This is a incredibly honest and frank account of Fry's school days. Most memorable parts are his hatred of games (particularly swimming), his ongoing battles over his love of music, his first crush (which consumed him every second of the day), and his petty crimes which culminated in a Jail sentence.

A word of warning, Stephen's very fragrant use of words and detailed descriptions of his sexual emotions may offend!

I couldn't stop listening to this book and wish it wasn't all over!

I highly recommend any Stephen Fry item to people as I think that he is an extraordinary man. This book just goes to prove it doesn't really matter how you are brought up, things in life will happen that are not under your control. Who would have thought that some of these things would have happened when you see Stephen on TV but he is such an interesting and intelligent man and to find out about the earlier part of his life before fame and fortune is extremely interesting showing that whatever happens in life you can over come and decide to live. I definitely recommend this book to fans of Stephen Fry and fans on biographies in general. With his high intelligence and wit he regularly brings a smile to your face while listening to the man himself talk about childhood and early adolescence and what triumphs and tragedies occurred.

This audiobook is another Fry stunner! Not only does Fry write with a lay it on the line honesty, his use of accents and his own luxurious voice make for a wholly immersive listening experience.



I wish this book was triple the length, I want more!

This is a triumph of a book, as most of Master Fry's are to be fair. As he says himself, his life is only as interesting or not as the next persons, but what brings this book to life is the wonderful language skills and honest self analysis which is exquisitely put into prose by a man who clearly has a love of words.



You will discover a man who has had his shares of up and downs, who has had, in the opinion of many including himself, no viable reason to do some of the less favourable things he did in childhood, and I suspect beyond, and a man who is, even now, analysing and punishing himself, and trying to balance the books of the lower ebbs of his adolescent years. You will also discover, although you already knew it, even if you may have forgotten, how low down mean children can be to one another, not deliberately, but carelessly and without giving a thought to it.



You and I could write our autobiographies and the books would probably be shorter and not a very good read, even though we may have had even higher peaks and lower troughs. What makes the difference here is his excellent memory, and his wish to be as analytical and honest as possible. I laughed, cried and cringed in equal proportions and I hope you do too.

This is a frank, even graphic account of the formative years of a national treasure. Covering the first twenty years of his life; Fry records his experiences of childhood, school, dishonesty, criminality and confectionery. As other reviewers have said, this novel is candid to the extreme. It is remarkable that the man we know today emerged from the child protagonist in this book.

Absolutely loved this book. A riveting story about the growing up of a great man. It is interesting to hear about whilst knowing about Stephens bi polar.

Brilliant title - look up what it means halfway through listening to the book - it will make the perfect sense why it is called it

Moab is my Washpot is a fantastic book. When reading it in print, every sentence feels quintessentially Stephen Fry, so it feels like such a treat to listen to his wonderful voice reading it. His voice is soothing, the content is unashamedly honest, touching and funny. This is one of my favourite audiobooks, one I will listen to over and over. If you are a fan of Stephen Fry (and let's be honest, who isn't?), buy this audiobook. You will love it.