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Agatha Christie – Surprise! Surprise! | Review

Title: Surprise! Surprise!

Author: Agatha Christie

Type: Fiction

Page Count: 224

Rating: 3.5/5

This book is something of an oddity, and in fact I hadn’t even heard of it until I spotted it going as part of an Agatha Christie job lot on eBay. Essentially, because different publishers released different books in different regions, there are some unique USA titles that never came out in the UK, and vice versa.

That mostly applies to short story collections, of which this is the perfect example. In fact, to say that I read this is almost cheating because I only bothered to read the stories that I hadn’t read before, and so there were only four of the twelve or thirteen in here that I actually read. I remember the ones that I skipped, though.

In fact, this is actually a pretty decent little read, if only because it features a bunch of Christie’s most well-known characters, from Parker Pyne to Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot. It also includes the title story of The Witness for the Prosecution, which I’ve seen performed as a play before. I think the play was a little better than the short story, but both of them are very much worth consuming. All in all then, I’d have to say that this one is worth reading.

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Stephen Fry – Moab is my Washpot | Review

Title: Moab is my Washpot

Author: Stephen Fry

Type: Non-Fiction

Page Count/Review Word Count: 436

Rating: 8/10

Stephen Fry – Moab is my Washpot

Moab is my Washpot is Stephen Fry’s first autobiography, a genuinely touching book which covers his early childhood and adolescence with unflinching honesty and a deep sense of humour. Fry has written autobiographical work before, but this is his first real stab at a fully-fledged work – let me tell you, it was worth waiting for.

It’s no secret that Fry is prone to moments of weakness – after all, he disappeared in 1995 after walking out of the play he was a part of, contemplating suicide and eventually surfacing in Belgium. Even as a youngster, Fry had issues with depression, and he had a habit of lying, cheating and stealing – in Moab, he even covers the period in his youth in which he stole a credit card and went on a criminal spending spree, eventually ending up in jail. Who would have thought it, of the charming presenter and much-loved British national treasure?

In fact, Washpot will tell you a lot more about Stephen Fry than you ever wanted to know, but that’s a good thing – more happened to Fry in the first twenty years of his life than to most people by the age of their retirement, and it’s fascinating to read all about it in his own words. Fry writes with his usual wit and wisdom, and it’s a pleasure to sink in to his words and to be left feeling like you’re really there at Stouts Hill Prep School.

Stephen Fry

And there’s no need to worry that you might not be able to relate to Fry, either – I grew up in a working class household in the midlands, and even though the young Fry’s surroundings and his struggles with his sexuality were alien to me, I could understand his thought processes and I felt like I was reading the words of an old friend. I think that says more about Fry’s abilities as a writer than it does about his personality.

Moab is my Washpot also sets you up perfectly for Fry’s later autobiography, The Fry Chronicles, which covers the later periods of his early life including his higher education and his meetings with some of the stars that he shaped a career with, including comedy partner Hugh Laurie. Read this first and then move on to Chronicles – you’ll love it, I promise you. I’ve said it before and I’ve said it again, Fry is a better non-fiction writer than a novelist, even if he’s damn good at both of them!