November 2, 2007

  • I've got loads of trip pics and book reviews on a back log. Not sure I will ever get to it all.  I have two weeks free in between jobs but I'd rather not plant myself in front of the computer any more than necessary since that is what I spend the rest of the my life doing. Does anyone else feel like a slave to email??  Now I wish that people would use the phone more!

    Anyway, about 'Moab' -- 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.

    Three out of five.