Moab Is My Washpot

Moab Is My Washpot has ratings and reviews. Trevor said: In Foucault's The History of Sexuality there is a chapter where (and I'm simplifying.
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What I did find surprising is just how sincere he is over the pain some of his misadventures had caused others. A lot of biographies of celebrities either celebrate their crimes or try and sweep them under a rug. Stephen faces his head on and I found that profoundly heartening. Ahh Frymo how I do indeed love you, though I should probably not call you Frymo.

In any case, his biographies are some of the best out there. There's a lot to tell, because he was a wee little shit back in the day and it's important to know this because look where he is now. I feel this might have been, like his other one, full of tangents but that's half the fun, yes? Can you imagine being sent to a boarding school miles from where you lived? He states in the novel that he promised himself he would never write an autobiography unless he was honest throughout and did not try to make himself out as the good guy.

Well, he certain Can you imagine being sent to a boarding school miles from where you lived? He is brutally honest about his school and post-school life, but sometimes to almost an intolerable extent. The tone changes in the middle if the book as he goes deeper into his problems of which there were many and shows the very, very dark and troublesome childhood of this otherwise seemingly funny and cheery comedian.

He often uses false names for people in his book, to save them much embarrassment. The last third of the book returns to relative sanity, or at least becomes so interesting that it is hard to put the book down. It explains how and why he turned eighteen came of age in a rotten diner, many thousands of miles away from his family. But despite his criminal activities, Fry emerged a year or so later to be accepted into Cambridge University.

Before you read this you have to know that you will never read another autobiography the same way, if ever. Either that or Stephen Fry was very odd, which you have to ask when you read this excerpt. This was from a letter he wrote to himself at the age of fifteen, not be opened until he was twenty-five: This is me now, the real me.

I love Stephen Fry. No matter what one may think of him and I personally think he's brilliant , the man's command of the English language is wonderful, and he uses it to his full advantage in this memoir of his childhood years. This book reminded me an awful lot o I love Stephen Fry. This book reminded me an awful lot of Roald Dahl 's Boy: Tales of Childhood , in both its eloquence and its quintessential Englishness, with both men writing in such a way that you feel like you're truly there, experiencing the depicted events as they occur. The ability to do such a thing is truly rare, and I think the world is therefore lucky that Fry continues to write for us.

Overall, a great book about the youth of an extraordinary man, and an excellent precursor to The Fry Chronicles. That said, they're written quite matter-of-factly and are not over-sexualised at all , so it shouldn't be a problem for anyone. I adore Stephen Fry, ever since I discovered the joy that is QI, and mainlined like 8 seasons in 2 weeks. Lookit, I'll call it quits around page A big disappointment from a man that I hold a passionate and undying love for. It just never caught me as it was a dry and uneventful retelling of what might be called a remarkable youth. I think it is proof that Fry's spirit is best shown by his actual presence and voice rather than words on a page.

Really he is to be experienced rather than studied. An insight into Stephen Fry's childhood, enjoyed his comments on himself as a teenager. Not an easy childhood, but not because of his parents or family but seemingly because of things he did, you'll just have to read it. Would Stephen Fry like me? Against all better judgment, I rather fell in love with him. This should be honestly described as a partial-autobiography, since it only takes the famous British comic actor from birth to about the age of twenty.

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But the part he writes is in equal parts hilarious and hair-raising. As a gay man, I know rather more about him, both for his outspoken support of LGBT rights and more recently for his pending nuptials to a far younger man. There is a certain perverse David Copperfield quality to this book, Oliver Twist with a twist. It is an epic saga of a life lived in desperation; desperation probably caused by an awareness of his homosexuality and inability to deal with it in healthy ways. This in itself points to the difficulty of growing up gay in the world of the s, 60s and 70s whether British or American with very little support of any kind.

Adorably, Fry does not point the finger of blame—he insists, amusingly and convincingly, that getting caned at boarding school did nothing to damage his psyche. He blames only himself, but in doing so embraces the general darkness of the world in his youth as the root cause of his excesses and his disastrous spiral into thievery and prison. He even makes prison sound sort of amusing. Writing honestly is difficult. Being funny about writing honestly is near miraculous. I loved this book and admire Fry deeply for unleashing it on the world.

View all 4 comments. Fry has so much charisma, even on the page, that one preserves a certain reticence. He oozes charm, and therefore the natural response is to turn put an anti-charm cloak. Even so, he got me.

Moab Is My Washpot

For a start, he's so intensely readable, so easy to read that there's pleasure just in that. And then for me -- well he's my decade, a couple of years younger than me -- and so many of his references were my references, his life is my life. I even know a bit about the sort of background he thrived in, the who Fry has so much charisma, even on the page, that one preserves a certain reticence.

I even know a bit about the sort of background he thrived in, the whole public school thing, because although I didn't go to one, I did grow up in a private primary school that prepared wee boys for the Common Entrance exam. Later I even tutored one or two myself. I like the way he stops and examines things minutely -- like the whole corporal punishment thing, for example. His argument is really interesting, the idea that when a thing is 'normal' -- i. And he's good on sex, really. And he's enormously clever at creating the sense that he's actually conducting a conversation with you, and with himself, and that he's worrying away at stuff until he works it through.

Sometimes you even get the sense that you just SAID something to which he's obviously replying. I wouldn't want to be Stephen Fry. He couldn't help being a scene stealer throughout his childhood, and he's still doing it. His public persona is who he is. The honesty about his own impulse to steal -- that thing which must have been a product of acute unhappiness -- even that becomes a disclosure which is part of the personal drama. It must be so difficult to take off your clothes in public. And then so difficult, if you're Stephen Fry, not to. He talks about how much he still hates not being able to sing, because it means not being able to join in.

That took me back to a lovely little film -- Peter's Friends -- in which Fry plays the central role. My favourite scene, which moves me to tears even to think about it, is the bit where the entire cast assembles round the piano and sings. And Imelda Staunton turns out to have such a beautiful voice -- and the whole point of the scene, as I remember it, is the way the singing lifts him, the way Peter's friends are a kind of glory of which he is a part, though he isn't partnered. It's almost a rejoinder to the bits in this book about not being able to join in.

I must send for that film on DVD and watch it again. Stephen Fry is a once-in-a-generation intellectual talent that, thank god, dedicated his life to show business rather than government, business, or the academy. Perhaps owing to the TV show Bones which I have not seen , you're maybe a little more likely to have heard of him in America than a few years ago; you probably have heard of his long-time comedic partner Hugh Laurie, now better known as Gregory House, MD. My first encounter with Stephen was unwitting on my part - turns out he had writte Stephen Fry is a once-in-a-generation intellectual talent that, thank god, dedicated his life to show business rather than government, business, or the academy.

My first encounter with Stephen was unwitting on my part - turns out he had written the book for the updated 'Me and My Girl' that my high school put on as a musical my sophomore year, the jokes of which I found genuinely funny unlike the hee-haw corniness of the Rodgers and Hammerstein shows that were otherwise on the menu. My next encounter was sometime in the early aughts, when one of the Manhattan public television networks or was it NJN?

This is a childhood memoir that covers that ground, as well as his recognition of his sexuality, educational development and career aspirations. It's quite an intimate, vulnerable undertaking at times how many close friends even have you told the story of your very first, um, 'little death'?

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Fry is a master and lover of the English language, and knows just when to be serious and when to suddenly interrupt his own flow with a playfully pointless tangent. I always liked Stephen Fry. I like the way he talks about himself. The way he stands for what, and how, he is. The way he talks about his love for words and hate for games. His matter of fact way of talking about being gay, and what I am not likely to forget for a long while - how it was when he fell in love for the first time.

The picture that emerges, is of a boy who realized, that he is smart enough to be able to get out of any situation without I always liked Stephen Fry. The picture that emerges, is of a boy who realized, that he is smart enough to be able to get out of any situation without getting caught. And that theory, as any scientist very well understands, needed to be tested and challenged, so test and challenge he did.

Both on himself and his surrounding: There were school pranks, small adrenaline-rising cheats, larger - not that harmless incidents slowly accelerating through his school years. To an outsider, a smart and confident young individual, but when you look a little deeper - the most utterly lost and attention craving little boy, that you have ever seen.

And at that, willing to gain that attention at any cost. This seeking of challenge and craving for attention has finally led him to a situation that could have costed him everything. Fortunately it didn't, and apparently even taught the unruly youth a lesson, or perhaps simply gave him that portion of attention that was needed to be able to turn everything around.

It is a very personal account of growing up, but it is written by Stephen Fry, so as I felt my heart go out to him, I couldn't ignore the possibility that maybe I am being manipulated. And that, of course I will never know, but it is a very good book, regardless, if the account is honest, or if to exhibit himself to the widest possible audience was just another challenge. I loved reading every page of it… I received this book as one of my Christmas present from my husband. He used to mention him to me now and again.

It is a show where Stephen Fry and 4 guests have a kind of quiz game. Stephen Fry is the quiz master in this program and they talk about some very interesting topics. This program clearly gives us an I loved reading every page of it… I received this book as one of my Christmas present from my husband. This program clearly gives us an idea how clever and witty the guy is…The more I watched the show the more I became interested in him as person….


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When my husband gave this autobiography to me as a present, it was spot on! His talent with words is unbelievable. This autobiography consists of the first 20 years of his life and I felt I was one of his classmates through the book. His words were bringing everything into life rather than giving you a feeling that you are reading a very pleasant story…I found myself many times laughing out loud at some of the anecdotes he was telling through school years…I can classify myself as a good reader and can also honestly say that this has not been happened to me for a long time… Autobiographies are my favourite category.

However, I can truly say that I have never come across anything like it, very expressive, honest, truthful, witty, entertaining, touching and literary skilled. I like Stephen Fry, but this was tedious. He uses a lot of words, but he doesn't have much to say. And he knows it. In the introduction of his second book, he writes: I ought to apologize for that. I ought to go back and prune, pare and extirpate excess growth, but I will not. I like words - strike that, I LOVE words - and while I am fond of the condensed and economical use of them in poetry, in song lyrics, i I like Stephen Fry, but this was tedious.

I like words - strike that, I LOVE words - and while I am fond of the condensed and economical use of them in poetry, in song lyrics, in Twitter, in good journalism and smart advertising, I love the luxuriant profusion and mad scatter of them too. After all, as you will already have noticed, I am the kind of person who writes things like "I shall append a superscribed obelus, thus". If my manner of writing is a self-indulgence that has you grinding your teeth then I am sorry, but I am too old a dog to be taught to bark new tunes.

Apologizing without the willingness to change. The old dog excuse.

Fry's puckish delight

You can tell that he's massively insecure and needs validation he also says this in the introduction and I sympathize with that, but yeah He's a great talent and a smart man, but in this case I'm afraid he's also just another overindulged celebrity. He's a great audiobook narrator, though. Maybe it's just too British for me, and possibly a bit pleonastic, but most of this book just went right around my head.

I wouldn't say over my head because I'm sure I have the capacity to understand what the devil "Cambridge Blue" means and how exactly the British school system is structured, but having very rarely come into contact with it before, I have to say it's just beyond me. Fry's rambling memoir also devolves into long non-chronological rants upon such things as Authors he has Loved m Maybe it's just too British for me, and possibly a bit pleonastic, but most of this book just went right around my head.

Fry's rambling memoir also devolves into long non-chronological rants upon such things as Authors he has Loved most of which I'd never heard of and How Music Feels, which, as even he acknowledges, is impossible to put to paper. His anecdotal tales were much more amusing and diverting than much of what else he's filled his memoir with. It's almost an exercise in recollection therapy, in which he attempts to understand the psychological motivations for much of his youthful behavior.

I suppose it is important to suss out your reasons why when you've been given every opportunity, proceed to make a muck of things, and emerge to be wildly successful, but he doesn't even get to the success and fame part. He ends things just after having "sat his Cambridge exams" whatever that means and going to apply to be a schoolmaster. I am aware that further memoirs have been written, and I am interested to know what happens next, but I am somewhat apprehensive that additional writing by this comedic performer will also not be as jocular as I had hoped when picking up this volume.

I seem to forget over and over again that people are sometimes very bad at writing their own memoirs.

Is Stephen Fry finally joining in? | From the Observer | The Guardian

It's 'cause we are so subjective as people. Fry puts himself down alot throughout the book, which isn't wrong - he was a real arse, but it gets very repetitive, obvious and numbing to read at some point. I enjoyed reading about his past and he was very open about everything which is a quality I like in people. His memory is amazing, I don't understand how some people can remember such details fr I seem to forget over and over again that people are sometimes very bad at writing their own memoirs.

His memory is amazing, I don't understand how some people can remember such details from such a young age. Although, I guess if I'd really sit down and start to reminiscense I could conjure up a memory or two I've repressed. That's about it though. I didn't like how his train of thought got caught off constantly and he went into lengthy sidetracks about things that in themselves were interesting but not in a memoir.

Like when a house was built or what kind of sideburns someone had. The amount of detail in this book is way too much for a story that doesn't even cover his whole lifetime up until writing. This doesn't take away from the fact that I still like the man, I think he's done some excellent acting roles, I like how he speaks and I've seen a documentary by him on gays and found it very informative and interesting. I just think someone else should have written this for him in order for him to get some distance.

In which Stephen Fry gives a frank and funny recounting of the first twenty years of his life. I could never be this honest about myself or my life. It really is an entirely different world, and Fry makes for a straightforward, yet sensitive, guide. Everything he says about not fitting in just makes me ache, especially his discussion about his inabili In which Stephen Fry gives a frank and funny recounting of the first twenty years of his life. Real life is sometimes so generous with its symbolism. 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. During a recent bout of post-surgical insomnia I whiled away my middle-of-the-night hours watching episode after episode of QI, hosted by Stephen Fry, on Youtube. Its combination of wit and trivia made the sleeplessness bearable. Eventually, however, I ran out of new episodes to watch and at that point downloaded this first volume of Fry's autobiography, which covers his life from first leaving for boarding school to his acceptance to university.

He writes about the difficulties inherent in grow During a recent bout of post-surgical insomnia I whiled away my middle-of-the-night hours watching episode after episode of QI, hosted by Stephen Fry, on Youtube. He writes about the difficulties inherent in growing up and his own difficultness, sometimes extreme, during that time period with both candour and discretion, changing the names of some people to save them from potential embarrassment or pain at their inclusion in his reminisces.

He is often funny, often moving, and definitely worth reading, although I do suspect he would be even more interesting in conversation. You know that question, "If you could have dinner with any three people, alive or dead, who would they be? This book wasn't quite what I expected, although I'm not sure exactly what I did expect! It meanders a lot, almost like a Ronnie Corbett armchair sketch - one minute he's telling you about what happened on a certain day during his childhood, and then he starts wandering off, telling you all about his opinions on the subject matter of that day's school lesson, or the way certain people behave.

I found it an enjoyable read, and I want to know "what happened next" - the book deals with the first 20 This book wasn't quite what I expected, although I'm not sure exactly what I did expect! I found it an enjoyable read, and I want to know "what happened next" - the book deals with the first 20 years of his life, and Fry is now 50, so I'm hoping a book of the next 20 will be written soon. Moab is my Washpot by Stephen Fry 1 9 Feb 15, Stephen John Fry is an English comedian, writer, actor, humourist, novelist, poet, columnist, filmmaker, television personality and technophile.

He is also famous for his roles in Blackadder and Wilde , and as the host of QI. The book covers some of the same ground as in Fry's first novel , The Liar , published in In that work, public schoolboy Adrian Healey falls in love with a boy called Hugo Cartwright; in the autobiography, year-old Fry becomes besotted with year-old "Matthew Osborne". Fry also writes about his older brother Roger, Bunce the new boy at his prep school , Stouts Hill , Jo Wood his best friend at Uppingham , and Oliver Derwent a prefect who "seduces" Fry. The title, never explained in the text of the book, is a verse found in Psalm 60 and Psalm Through wearing sandals, people's feet would become filthy in the dusty desert environment and upon entering a home feet would be washed with water by pouring water over them into a washpot.

Moab , which had threatened Israel, was to be so completely subdued, and so became likened to a wash pot or basin. Fry, being a fervent P. Wodehouse fan having written a foreword to a "Best of" compilation of his works, and having played Jeeves in the British comedy series on his works , is likely to have been inspired by a quote from Uncle Fred mentioning Pongo Twistleton 's exploits in the book Uncle Dynamite:.

He bestrides the world like a Colossus. It would not be too much to say that Moab is his washpot and over what's-its-name has he cast his shoe.

(Memoir) Stephen Fry More Fool Me

In a article for the Evening Standard , Andrew Billin wrote that Fry was reunited with "Osborne" after the publication of the book:. Many pages of the deepest purple are devoted to this Matthew Osborne, "the most beautiful thing I had ever seen in my life". I ask if the pseudonymous Matthew, with whom he eventually achieved some form of splendour in the long grass , had been in touch since the book came out in How did he take it? He is very happily married with children. A wonderful chap and hugely successful as it happens," Fry chuckles, incredulous.