Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman

by Laurence Sterne

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Tags: Classics, Novel

ISBN:0192834703

Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman

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Description

Full of bawdy jokes, hilarious double entendres, and perplexing twists, Tristam Shandy has been called a post-modern novel which just happens to have been written in the late 1700s. Laurence Sterne’s masterpiece is told from the point-of-view of Tristram Shandy, a fellow who says he will narrate the story of his life and opinions. But this claim is immediately challenged when Tristam goes back in time to tell the story of his conception. This playful absurdity sets the tone for the rest of the novel, which focuses on the relationships between Tristram, his father Walter, and his loveable Uncle Toby. Tristram’s tale is not so much a linear story as it is a set of digressions linked by free association. But amazingly, Sterne’s unconventional technique reveals characters of touching depth: the story wanders from Tristram’s accidental circumcision to Toby’s war re-enactments to Widow Wadman’s hilarious attempts to seduce Uncle Toby. The story may not take us where we think it will, but at its conclusion—which itself defies any sort of resolution—we have arrived at a surprisingly full appreciation of the wonderfully quirky Shandy family.

Opening Lines (Experimental)

The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman.
To the Right Honourable Mr. Pitt.
Never poor Wight of a Dedicator had less hopes from his Dedication, than I have from this of mine; for it is written in a bye corner of the kingdom, and in a retir'd thatch'd house, where I live in a constant ...

Member review

5/5

Reviewed by dreamdust on May 29, 2009

Memorable Tristram Shandy

A book you will not forget! There is nothing quite like this book, it is not as well known as it should be nowadays. So much fun...one of my all time favorites.