The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman (Oxford World's Classics)

I have just read Tristram Shandy for the third time and it it delights me and makes me hoot with laughter all over and again. Even so, I feel unable to review Laurence Sterne's work when so many of my friends cannot understand why I could read such a book even once. For my part, I do not understand why, at the end of the work, the author leaves us to wonder why he did not draw some of the pieces together and answer, at least, some of the questions he proposes. We are left not knowing why his brother died, whether he ever succumbed to wedded bliss or whether he ever had his breeches repaired!Although I have not written a review I will share a recommendation that I have made to myself. That is to find some literature that will shed some light on the life and aspirations of Laurence Sterne himself.

This is a hilarious book! You have to be able to put some work into it, however. It was written is mid-18th century, and by a man knowledgeable in both Attic Greek and Latin, and is filled with phrases peculiar to his period.This edition provides excellent notes, thankfully. Don't read the Introduction. I have no idea why book publishers routinely reveal the contents of books this way.This is most deservedly a classic.

Tristram Shandy is a known quantity: it was published between 1759 and 1767, and it is long. But is is a classic, and if you want to try it this is probably as good a way as any. I gave it only four stars because the Kindle word lookup feature leaves a lot of 18th century words undefined. I found the Wiktionary to be useful when Kindle failed.

While I gave it a 3 star rating the work is actually very, very good. Written in the style of early Victorian it can be a bit of work reading through it. Nevertheless the wit is deep and one has to think on the prose and link that to the contemporary attitudes and writing style of the day. Notwithstanding that aspect is that many of the characters, issues and incidents through life have a remarkable resonance today. I tend to read this novel when I have time and an inclination to more thoughtfully absorb the prose. Not for everyone but to persevere is to have rewards.

In the hundred years before this book some of the worst of English literature was written: Wycherly, Defoe, Richardson. Sure, we had Swift and Fielding, but I would argue against any of their works as masterpieces. Tristram Shandy comes out of nowhere. It's as though Joyce's soul, slumming in the eighteenth century, decided to have fun. It's one of the greatest comic novels of our language. And it is soooo weird. You have to read this before you die. Note: although it's told in first person, for the first hundred pages he's not born yet.

Sterne's humor is extraordinary. The 18th century language is stilted, and his frequent focus on the church and religion, while understandable for his time and circumstance, is tiring. But his humor is as fresh as the morning dew and is the saving grace of his novel.

One of very favorite novels. Rather dense prose common to the era. One of the funniest pieces of writing I have ever read. This book is definitely not for everyone. The style of writing and the plot are very different from modern novels. Browse through the first page or two before buying, as that gives you an idea of what you will be reading, and see if it fits your taste.

I really enjoyed Tristram Shandy after I got into it and was able to follow it. The interruptions, which are the basis of the book, can be "interruptive" to your thought patterns! But the wit is absolutely brilliant!

O humor inteligente e imperdível.

The Seinfeld of its time … a book about nothing, and just as funny. I love the fact that the author of this “autobiography “ isn’t even born until half way through the novel, he keeps gettIng sidetracked, to amusing effect.

Tristram Shandy é algo parecido com graffiti. Imagine Laurence Sterne rabiscando todas as convenções literárias, olhando por cima do ombro para ver se a polícia aparece. Então aqui está a captura: este graffiti embala um soco artístico. Sterne não está realmente desfigurando o trabalho de seus contemporâneos; ele está apenas sendo um pouco irreverente com a literatura tão séria, acrescentando alguns ingredientes ao caldeirão. Ele é como um garoto punk que quer irritar as autoridades com páginas em branco, palavras grandes e piadas muito ruins. Sterne está um pouco cansado das respostas boazinhas e conclusões puras encontradas na literatura tradicional. Ele quer que seus leitores acordem e farejem o sol. Personagens estranhos e finais pouco convencionais tornam o material de leitura muito melhor; pense nos personagens dos desenhos animados da Warner (i.e., Pernalonga, Patolino, Papaléguas, Coiote, e outros) metidos em circunstâncias muito estranhas. Esses momentos confusos, engraçados e embaraçosos que acontecem na vida cotidiana são muito mais interessantes do que os enredos tradicionais. Basicamente a narrativa abrange tudo menos a vida de Tristram: as opiniões filosóficas de seu pai, a obsessão de sua mãe em dar à luz em Londres, a capacidade do seu pároco em deixar todos loucos, a mania do seu tio para os fortes de brinquedo e, mais do que tudo, como foi difícil escrever o livro. Sterne é perfeitamente ciente de que Tristram Shandy não existe no vácuo. Afinal, quão rebelde seria o graffiti sem cobrir alguma coisa? Estendendo a sátira sobre outras tradições literárias, Sterne está chamando a atenção para a maneira como contamos histórias. Narrativas fazem o mundo parecer ordenado e preciso. Mas a realidade é que vivemos em um mundo que não respeita qualquer tipo de fronteiras. Sua vida se encaixa em um das setes narrativas básicas daquele livro que ensina como interpretar um romance? Tem começo, meio e fim? Os personagens são estáveis, e eles sempre agem de maneira lógica? Claro que não! Sterne tem uma caneta em vez de uma lata de spray, mas ele está agitando as coisas de qualquer maneira. Boa leitura!

The main plot is amusing - and even somewhat bawdy. But there is a plethora of deviations which eventually fatigued me. However, the characters of the novel were uniformly delightful. Stern is intoxicated with words, and also classical allusions. Was he a proto-Modernist or even a Post-Modernist? In some way, but fundamentally a product of the invigorating Georgian Age. Karl Marx admired him: that tells you something about the Great man!

What Joyce was trying to achieve when he wrote Ulysses one hundred and sixty years later.