Clever, witty, articulate, open commentary on Stephen Fry's life up to his winning a scholarship to Cambridge aged 20. ( )

Brilliantly written, joyfully meandering autobiography of Stephen Fry's school years. Interesting, funny and poignant. ( )

Perhaps you picked up this book not knowing Stephen. Well, you're about to get very closely acquainted.

There is something about the way Stephen strings together words in lists that rolls off your tongue in some sort of symbiotic symmetry & the things he goes on about (passion, obfuscations, insults, literature,...) delights, captivates &... obfuscate. How can he even wonder why people treat him like a living encyclopaedia?

The matter of life, growing up & falling in love is all dealt with in the manner I would expect a long lost twin would to his other.

To me, his story is a reminder of that old adage about not everything meeting the eye, & the truth in all fables of redemption. ( )

It is an odd thing to try and review someone's autobiography, so let me just say that it was an interesting read. The only real disappointment was that it stops right before he goes to Cambridge. His time at Cambridge with the rest of the folks that became the Monty Python crew, was what I was really looking forward to reading about. ( )

A frank and fascinating journey through the first twenty years of Stephen Fry’s life, this warmly-written and self-effacing story made me feel like inviting him round for tea and giving him a big hug. ( )

I think the New York Times said it all: "Delicious!" ( )

Moab is My Washpot is a grippingly honest account of the first eighteen years of Stephen Fry's life.

Fry guides us through the joys and torments of his youth in sometimes shockingly intimate detail. The narrative moves effortlessly from a timid boy in knee high shorts to accounts of lost virginity and credit card fraud, with a few sweet shop incidents in between. Sometimes the flow of the story is sidetracked by Fry's intellectual explorations, but to its benefit, not detraction. I was particulary taken by the proposed similarities between Fry's bent nose and the British monarchy - if you can't think what those might be, you'll have to read it and see.

Not forgetting, of course, the poor dead hedgehog.

The wonder of this book and what keeps it so compelling all the way through is that is is so open, full of emotion and guts. It not just a collection of events but the story the a growth of a personality from the perspective of its person. I have good friends who have never revealed as much of themselves to me as Fry has in the pages of Moab.

The account is engagingly written and, despite the dark nature of some of the content, full of wry humorous observations. Highly recommended. ( )

This book is so honest and so personal that it feels like an intrusion to read it. Having said that, once I started I couldn't stop! ( )

Meandering, witty, defensive, wildly self-indulgent, honest, conceited and very entertaining, reading Moab is my Washpot is an experience which I must imagine is very akin to sitting down with Stephen Fry and having him talk with and/or at you for a couple of hours about any subject which comes into his head. Fry recounts the first twenty years of his life—his periods at various boarding schools; his struggles with his sexuality; his suicide attempt and his conviction for fraud—with a great deal of candour. There are elements which he is frank about editing, and other aspects which are perhaps unconsciously elided, but Fry is definitely not out to save his blushes in this work. There were times when I found that a little tedious, because he was being so aggressively honest that it would almost make you think that he was trying to hide something, or at the least to convince himself of his own point. That said, still a very enjoyable book, which gives a very amusing insight into the weird and wonderful effects which the English boarding school system can have. ( )

Utterly delightful language. ( )

Not quite sure I could explain the title. Stephen Fry's writes in a way that I think is very much like the persona you see on the TV screen. His grasp of the english language has always impressed/amazed me and, because of this, there were times I found it hard to understand certain words he used in the book: but, I got the gist. It was certainly an intriguing read. The book is about the first 20 years of his life. Although the last few years are brief. There's quite a lot about public school life. Something I'd not experienced and only briefly known of from friends I have known. I haven't read his novels (which I plan to) but I hope that he writes a second chapter (his next 20 years) because there are some things that have happened in his life that I would be interested read the thoughts from the man himself. ( )

Fry is a funny guy -- here he tells the story of his life right up until the point that most people would want him to start. But even if he refuses to tell about meeting Hugh Laurie, Emma Thompson and Tony Slattery, his early life is fascinating. And, of course, told in witty and erudite Fry fashion ( )

brilliant and witty description of the early years of a gay English Jew - a delight ( )

And humour is your loofah ( )

An at times painfully honest autobiography of a much-loved British institution. ( )

I found it to be pretty amusing, over my head, tedious, and admirable all at the same time. It was a hard read at times because I didn't know a thing about Stephen Fry and this book is his autobiography (of the first 20 years of his life anyway). I've been living in the UK for 4 years but a lot of British stuff is still a total mystery to me and he discusses a lot of British 'stuff'. What I was able to get out of it was ... that you could screw around and getting into some pretty deep shit in your adolescence but still attend Cambridge and become a pretty successful guy. However, you can probably only do this if your IQ is in the near genius range (and do you realy want to risk it?). Being supremely intelligent but socially awkward/not sporty only lead to Mr. Fry acting out against the authorities. His story also shows that a stable family background doesn't necessarily mean that the kids will come out of it all functioning 'normally'. This was a book club selection and during the discussion one of the girls said that was her favorite part of the book as his abnormality despite having an upbringing with little to no fault made her feel normal for having issues as well.

Fy also opened my eyes to the British public school boy experience and that it's a breeding ground for possible same sex experimentation. Some people swear this is true but I don't know myself - not being familiar with the school system here at all. Anyone have an opinion on this?

Above all, I was very impressed by Fry's intellect and expertise in a variety of topics. He wasn't shy about showing off his knowledge and going off on quite a few tangents in this display. But it is his autobiography and I can't say that I wouldn't do the same if I was writing one! He is immensely honest about his wrong doings but you never find yourself disliking him in any way which is quite an accomplishment and probably why he is so still so well liked today.

Could be two and half or a three but I'll go with three since I now like the guy. ( )

Stephen Fry recounts his childhood and teenage years with honesty and candor. Whenever I read an autobiography I'm prepared for some bias and self-absorption, but Fry's book seems to be a sincere attempt to be candid and reflect upon his past. The autobiography feels relatively uncensored as he writes about mischief at boarding school, unrequited love, making use of a stolen credit card, and a suicide attempt during his teenage years. It's all presented with humor and little, if any, self-aggrandizement. I finished the book feeling as though I had read his carefully thought-out musings and insights on life and certain topics in general, rather than simply a retelling of the events that had occurred his own life. ( )

Ein schöner Einblick in das Leben dieses vielseitigen Engländers.... ( )

While I enjoyed this book, it was nothing like what I expected it to be. I had hoped to find out more about Stephen's career as a comedian, but this book only covers his first 18 years. But what years! A very troubled boy who (I hope) has a much happier life now. ( )

‘Moab is my Washpot’ is the autobiography of Stephen Fry’s first twenty years. I enjoyed the book, but I did not like the young Fry – this is something that I believe he set out to achieve. He came over as immensely arrogant but this made ‘Moab’ one of the most honest autobiographies I have ever read. ( )

BRILLANT!
Signed copy bought in London ( )

Great read. Perhaps a little self indulgent in places. Also although the tone is one of complete openness, some things are clearly hidden in hindsight (no mention, for example, of his manic depression, though this is perhaps understandable since he'd only just found this out when he was writing the book).

But these are minor niggles. Generally, an entertaining and fascinating insight. ( )

This is the autobiography of one of my favorite actors. Fry's a wonderful comic actor and an even better writer. It stops at about age 20 or so; I hope he writes another about what's happened since. ( )