Moab is My Washpot [Import] [Paperback]

Stephen Fry (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: 1998

"First published paperback in the United Kingdom in 1998 by Arrow Books. (Trade Paperback w/436 pages). "A remarkable, perhaps even unique, exercise in autobiography...that aroma of authenticity that is the point of all great autobiograhies: of which this, I rather think, is one" Evening Standard

Product Details

• Paperback: 436 pages
• Publisher: Arrow Books; New Ed edition (1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0099727315
• ISBN-13: 978-0099727316
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (66 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,400,319 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

51 of 51 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A stunning work and a pleasure to read, October 2, 2001

By 

F. G. Hamer "MadManxMan" (Isle of Man) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Moab Is My Washpot (Paperback)

In `Moab is my Washpot' (the best-written celebrity memoir of 1999), Stephen Fry, the intellectually intimidating archetypal Brit tells his life story to the age of 20. Often outrageous, always full of humour, Fry is the darling of the media, appearing regularly in TV series and chat shows. He is highly regarded as raconteur, newspaper columnist, actor and writer. But above all else, Stephen Fry is eccentric in the Oscar Wilde sense of the word.

In this, his autobiography, he is frank about his early years, which included perpetual lying, expulsion from one of Britain's better known public schools, his discovery that he was homosexual, his theft and misuse of a friend's credit card, his imprisonment and, eventually, the discovery of his own personal road to Damascus.

The multi-talented Fry writes as he speaks. He is the ultimate wordsmith, taking his cue from Wilde by using the `correct' word - the one that paints the most vivid mind picture, rather than a pompous, flamboyant word that sends everybody scurrying for the dictionary. `Moab is my Washpot' is simultaneously daring, impertinent, open, moving, sacrilegious and funny.

You'll read `Moab is my Washpot' not just for the factual story of a young man whose confused sexuality takes him to the edge of self-destruction, but for the joy and beauty of the written word.

A stunning work and a pleasure to read.

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent! A treat for one and all., July 15, 2003

By 

blnkfrnk "(KRC)" (Arcata, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Moab Is My Washpot (Paperback)

This is an excellent book. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I realize that everyone has different reading habits, but it might be revealing to know that I more or less read this straight through, starting the minute I got it home, breaking for maybe six hours of sleep, then resuming progress in every free moment at work until I finished. It was impossible to put down, and seems to exert some sort of gravitational pull upon my hand every time I pass it on the shelf.

If you're interested in Stephen Fry, it follows that you should read this. If you like autobiographies in general, this is one of the best you'll come across. There are parts that could easily stand alone as essays, and parts that read like fiction. The writing is brilliant as usual-- clear, precise, thoughtful, poignant, and funny.

One thing I feel is important to mention-- most folks do not remember what it felt like to be young. It's clear to me that most writers create teenage or youthful characters from observations of those around them, not from their own experiences, and it shows. After a while, it becomes painful to read yet another cardboard teen. But Stephen Fry does remember, what it was like, in detail, and it's very refreshing and gratifying. I read this and see myself, or someone I can relate to and identify with. Others might read this and see someone they know, and still others might be astounded by the depth of feeling and sincerity expressed.

I would recommend this to most anyone--I love it and, while there are people who won't, I think they're in the minority. If you're not convinced, get the cheapest copy you can find, and give it a shot anyway. This book is more than worth your while.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Autobiography Shows Author's "Wilde" Side Growing Up, June 6, 2000

By 

"lcd6" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Moab Is My Washpot (Paperback)

Moab Is My Washpot by British comedian Stephen Fry is at turns sly, funny and laced with a poignancy which reveals a hauntingly human side to a man whose writing talent and comedic prowess makes him intellectually intimidating.

In the book we learn of how Fry was turned out of prep and public school, his jaunt around England as a forger of credit card signatures, his time in prison and the triumphant reclaiming of his life through his entrance to Cambridge.

What is important about this book is that it is universal. Fry's story of teenage angst and lonliness is one many teens go through today. It is good to see that his story has a successful ending. It serves as notice to lost youths that they can turn their lives around and be a success.

There is one flaw with the book. It ended to soon. Fry only chronciles the first 20 years and doesn't even hit on such momentous events such as meeting fellow partner in comedic crime, Hugh Laurie at Cambridge. I can only hope Mr. Fry's fingers are busily typing out a sequel covering the next twenty years.