Tristram Shandy

by Laurence Sterne
List(s):"Carp 500"
Category: "Fiction - Adventure"
Pages:478
Year of Publication:1768
Date Read:05/31/1993
Notes:Narrated by Shandy, the story begins at the moment of his conception and diverts into endless digressions, interruptions, stories-within-stories, and other narrative devices. The focus shifts from the fortunes of the hero to the nature of his family, environment and heredity. The narrator is isolated in his own privacy and doubts how much, if anything, he can know for certain even about himself.

COMMENTS — Sterne broke all the rules: events occur out of chronological order, anecdotes are often left unfinished, and sometimes whole pages are filled with asterisks, or dashes or are left entirely blank. Sterne sent the first section of the novel to London late in 1759. When he went to London in March, 1760, the novel was already the rage and he was famous.
My Rating: 5

Reviews for Tristram Shandy

Review - Tristram Shandy

I suspect that Sterne was playing a very clever trick on his readers, seeing just how much they would put up with. For that reason, the book is worth reading — the stuff he comes up with is truely bizarre.
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