Moab Is My Washpot

By: Stephen Fry

Narrated by: Stephen Fry

Brought to you by Penguin.

The original best-selling 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 listenable.

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 18, 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.

©1997 Stephen Fry (P)1997 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

"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 smile take the breath away - his most satisfying and appealing book so far." (Observer)

Brilliantly written and thoroughly enjoyable

Firstly, I love listening to Stephen Fry's voice!
I admire greatly his artful use of the English language. And appreciate his candour. There are so many beautifully written sentences in this book that one wants to pore over.
Whether he believes it or not Stephen Fry makes the world a better place.

Genius

This man is a wordsmith of the highest degree and totally enjoyable to listen to. Only Stephen Fry could have read his own book and he did it brilliantly.
One problem - now I listen to other peoples autobiographies they mostly seem shallow and poorly written and have little detail as Frys writings have in spades.

loved every moment

so beautiful. .such English language to die for. loved every minute. Having attended a similar private school s
for girls,I chuckled at Fry's wonderful escapades.

Interesting, but very wordy

If you could sum up Moab Is My Washpot in three words, what would they be?

Too much information!

Would you be willing to try another book from Stephen Fry? Why or why not?

Yes, absolutely. I've already listened to The Fry Chronicles, which follows this one, and it's better. I'm planning on getting the third, after I've caught up on some other reading.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I did find it rather long-winded, and it dragged a little at times. Nevertheless, I'm glad to have read it.

Any additional comments?

Other reviewers have mentioned some explicit scenes and vulgarities. Certainly I wouldn't recommend it for anyone under the age of consent, and in some places there was rather more detail than I was comfortable with - but I expect non-fiction to take me outside my comfort zone from time to time. If you're a Steven Fry fan, and you want to know about his life, you will want to read this. If you don't, you will always be wondering if you missed something important.

My one and only Perfect 10

In truth this is not everyone's cuppa because you had to have been there to really, and I mean really, 'get it'. I was, albeit before Fry Minor and at a different school but through his recollections and story telling I was reacquainted with senses, events and people I had long forgotten. It is a magical carpet ride, a parallel universe where everything was the same, only the names different (we even had our own Stephen Fry!). Be warned, expletives are therein aplenty but when used in Fry's context, in his delivery, they are an important part of the adjectival pallet. Thank you Stephen for your intellect and courage and supreme sense of humour and contriteness. Long may you continue to scribe.

Brutal honesty, mature reflection and lots of fun

What did you love best about Moab Is My Washpot?

A jolly good English romp but with enough humour and twists to prevent it being too toff. Although it mostly talks about Fry's education in the British Public School system, his is no conventional itinerary: there is the foreign family background, the gay consciousness and the never ending maverickness which caused some laugh out loud moments.
He also writes with brutal honesty about adolescent infatuations and shortcomings. Much cringeworthy humour there comes from the reader/listener finding parallels in their own past - whatever their sex and background.
If you wanted to nit-pick, you could say that Fry, being so very clever with words and style, can't help himself at times and manipulates the reader, stringing out the moment of a revelation with too many incidental diversions or padding out stories to an extent that can sometimes be a little annoying. And sometimes he sounds a bit too pompous in his delivery. But overall, these are very minor complaints and the book is an enjoyable listen from start to finish, especially as you know you are getting the whole story from the horse's mouth, the way he intends it to be heard.
I found out about this book through listening to the Fry chronicles which I also loved. The two cover quite different biographical ground and are fun in different ways and I recommend them both.

Any additional comments?

You can have fun trying to work out what the title means! He doesn't explain it.

Aural Pleasure

Would you listen to Moab Is My Washpot again? Why?

Yes, yes and thrice yes. I will probably listen more than twice!

What did you like best about this story?

The honesty and his life laid bare.

Which character – as performed by Stephen Fry – was your favorite?

Himself???

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The end....very sad....

So much that resonates with my own childhood

Eloquent as ever. Hilarious and heart-breaking too. Stephen is an outstanding narrator and the only person I'd ever want to hear read his works. Bravo

Listen to the Fry Chronicles First / Instead

If you're interested in Stephen Fry, start (and perhaps also finish) with the Fry Chronicles instead (Fry's autobiography of the second twenty years of his life). While Fry narrates both autobiographies exquisitely, Moab is My Washpot (of his first twenty years), is less interesting and calls for a good reining in and editing (even more than the Chronicles). The most interesting part, for me, was his account of how thoroughly he was tormented by his inner-devils as a child and adolescent, and how completely he screwed his life up, and then how he took control of his life and made such a success of himself. Parents and teachers take note that Fry leaves no details out of his early sexual experiences, from his more solo adventures to a rather worrying deflowering by an older boy at school. Probably more for die-hard Fry fans.