false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1170662529m/66857.jpg 66857 14 Stephen Fry is not making this up! Fry started out as a dishonorable schoolboy inclined to lies, pranks, bringing decaying moles to school as a science exhibit, theft, suicide attempts, the illicit pursuit of candy and lads, a genius for mischief, and a neurotic life of crime that sent him straight to Pucklechurch Prison and Cambridge University, where he vaulted to fame along with actress Emma Thompson. He wound up starring as Oscar Wilde in the film <I>Wilde</I>, costarring in <I>A Civil Action</I>, and writing funny, distinguished novels. <p> This irresistible book, the best-written celebrity memoir of 1999, concentrates on Fry's first two tumultuous decades, but beware! A Fry sentence can lead anywhere, from a ringing defense of beating schoolchildren to a thoughtful comparison of male and female naughty parts. Fry's deepest regrets seem to be the elusiveness of a particular boy's love and the fact that, despite his keen ear for music, Fry's singing voice can make listeners "claw out their inner ears, electrocute their genitals, put on a Jim Reeves record, throw themselves cackling hysterically onto the path of moving buses... anything, anything to take away the pain." A chance mention of Fry's time-travel book about thwarting Hitler, <I>Making History</I> (a finalist for the 1998 Sidewise Award for Best Alternative History), leads to the startling real-life revelation that Fry's own Jewish uncle may have loaned a young, shivering Hitler the coat off his back. <p> Fry's life is full of school and jailhouse blues overcome by jaunty wit, à la <I>Wilde</I>. The title, from Psalm 108:9, refers to King David's triumph over the Philistines. Fry triumphs similarly, and with more style. <I>--Tim Appelo</I> 2951429 1 5 1999 Moab Is My Washpot total:843|5:315|4:341|3:160|2:23|1:4| 843 3469 1297 111 4 6 false false Sat Sep 27 15:43:58 -0700 2008 Sat Sep 27 15:57:01 -0700 2008 The History of Sexuality there is a chapter where (and I’m simplifying and summarising, possibly far too much) he compares Eastern and Western ways of sex. Basically in the East people are ‘initiated’ into sex – they are taught sex as one might be taught to dance. No one is...more...]]> 4 1 false false Mon Dec 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Mon Dec 01 13:34:47 -0800 2008 Mon Dec 22 15:19:51 -0800 2008 more...]]> 3 1 false false Tue Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Thu Jul 17 06:54:56 -0700 2008 Thu Jul 24 00:57:52 -0700 2008 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...more...]]> 4 1 true false Tue Apr 08 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Tue Mar 25 12:55:23 -0700 2008 Tue Apr 08 07:04:57 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 1 false false Tue Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2005 Sun Aug 26 09:33:51 -0700 2007 Tue Sep 04 09:27:20 -0700 2007 more...]]> 0 0 false false Fri May 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Aug 30 19:33:49 -0700 2009 Sun Aug 30 19:43:03 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false true Sun Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2006 Sat Sep 05 17:55:13 -0700 2009 Sat Sep 05 18:01:12 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 1 false false Tue Sep 22 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat Sep 26 08:43:05 -0700 2009 Sat Sep 26 08:48:45 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Tue Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Mon Oct 05 13:43:17 -0700 2009 Mon Oct 05 13:43:31 -0700 2009
The book deals with the first twenty years of Stephen’s life, from prep school to prison via painful adoselence and uns...more...]]> 5 0 false false Tue Jan 27 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Tue Jan 20 12:29:29 -0800 2009 Tue Jan 27 15:54:21 -0800 2009
Fry's voice is so true that his chatty prose makes you think...more...]]> 4 0 false false Tue Apr 28 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Fri Jan 02 14:13:03 -0800 2009 Thu Apr 30 15:11:04 -0700 2009 1 ...more...]]> 3 0 false false Sat Jan 10 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sun Jul 20 03:09:58 -0700 2008 Fri May 08 09:00:24 -0700 2009
I was entranced by the story he presents of a young boy quite unsurprisingl...more...]]> 5 0 false false Fri Jun 13 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Tue Jun 03 09:43:12 -0700 2008 Fri Jun 13 11:25:45 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 0 false false Wed Nov 19 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Fri May 16 21:20:06 -0700 2008 Thu Nov 20 17:06:43 -0800 2008 1
...more...]]> 4 0 false false Tue Apr 08 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Tue Apr 08 17:55:57 -0700 2008 Thu May 01 14:10:35 -0700 2008 never be this honest about myself or my life. And I’m saying that as someone who has not emerged semi-intact from the truly insane-sounding English public school system. ...more...]]> 4 0 false false Sat Dec 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Sun Dec 23 11:06:25 -0800 2007 Sat Dec 29 02:43:08 -0800 2007 The Liar before embarking on this journey. This is his memoir as an English public schoolboy in the 1960s-1970s, documenting his wild younger...more...]]> 3 0 false false Sat Dec 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Fri Dec 14 04:40:05 -0800 2007 Wed Jan 02 13:18:14 -0800 2008 more...]]> 5 0 false false Tue Oct 16 18:06:19 -0700 2007 Tue Oct 16 18:18:31 -0700 2007 more...]]> 5 0 false false Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Sat Jan 17 00:02:04 -0800 2009 Sat Jan 17 00:06:46 -0800 2009 2 more...]]> 4 0 true false Sun Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sat May 17 06:33:17 -0700 2008 Thu Jul 03 09:55:39 -0700 2008 more...]]> http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=66857