Reviews - Moab is My Washpot

277 reviews for:

Moab is My Washpot

Stephen Fry

4.01 AVERAGE

jeseshat's review against another edition

3.5

funny informative lighthearted slow-paced

oliviareads8's review

3.75

emotional funny reflective slow-paced

jimsreadingandstuff's review against another edition

4.0

A rambling account of Stephen Fry's turbulent schooldays, which sees him expelled three times and put in a young offender's institution before turning his life around and being awarded a scholarship to Queens' (!) College, Cambridge. We see him in this autobiography, at his washpot scrubbing away at "the grime of years". Here he candidly confesses to some shameful acts of kleptomania such as stealing the pension money of the grandmother of a party host. Stephen Fry is forever getting in trouble at school as he tries to avoid doing any sporting activities or as he sneaks into town for sweets.
The book covers some of the same territory as his novel The Liar , particularly concerning his thing (Stephen Fry is reticent to call it a crush) with schoolmate "Matthew Osborne". It would seem from the emphasis in the book that his confused sexuality took him along the road to self destruction. The book, as one would expect with the "clever" Mr Fry, is well written; a mix of humour and poignancy with maybe too much profanity for the more sensitive reader. It leaves us curious to know what happened next.