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Penguin Classics (1982), Paperback, 660 pages
Description
Introduction and Notes by Robert Folkenflik Rich in playful double entendres, digressions, formal oddities, and typographical experiments, "The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman "provoked a literary sensation when it first appeared in England in a series of volumes from 1759 to 1767. An ingeniously structured novel (about writing a novel) that fascinates like a verbal game of chess, "Tristram Shandy "is the most protean and playful English novel of the eighteenth century and a celebration of the art of fiction; its inventiveness anticipates the work of Joyce, Rushdie, and Fuentes in our own century. This Modern Library Paperback is set from the nine-volume first edition from 1759.
User reviews
LibraryThing member Eurydice
Digressive, dear sir? Yes! Bizarre, madam? -- Why, yes.... Bawdy? Well - Just read this passage quickly, madam, once through, without thinking --- and...
Is it: Better in the first half? Sure.
Sentimental? Certainly.
A witty, whimsical, comic gem? - Absolutely!!!
Is it: Better in the first half? Sure.
Sentimental? Certainly.
A witty, whimsical, comic gem? - Absolutely!!!
LibraryThing member lriley
First published in nine parts during the 1760's this very remarkable novel by the English writer Laurence Sterne starts with the birth of one Tristram Shandy--following him through his young manhood. As a writer Sterne was quite the innovator--telling his Tristram stories through the multiple
Anyway there are a lot of curiosities in this novel--and in some respects the work it reminds me of the most is Joyce's Ulysses--at least in some of its sections. Maybe not the easiest reading at times but for that matter neither is Ulysses or Don Quixote. FWIW a watershed moment in the development of the novel.
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viewpoints of Tristram's father Walter, or his Uncle Toby and his valet Trim or through Tristram himself. Eccentric and unique in style-- we see stories begun and never finished--interrupted by one character or another--often taking them off on unforseen tangents--what makes all this seeming chaos work is the wit, style and verve of the writer and the exuberantly expansive nature of his characters--always curious to look under every rock and to ferret out even the smallest detail of whatever story they're hearing. There is no end to their intellectual curiosity and Sterne's prose moves effortlessly forward crossing over genre's with remarkable ease. For instance all of a sudden we are reading a travel novel (Volume 7) and in the final (Volume 9) book a romantic comedy--and it all fits seamlessly together. Anyway there are a lot of curiosities in this novel--and in some respects the work it reminds me of the most is Joyce's Ulysses--at least in some of its sections. Maybe not the easiest reading at times but for that matter neither is Ulysses or Don Quixote. FWIW a watershed moment in the development of the novel.
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LibraryThing member Lukerik
This is the funniest and most bonkers book I've ever read. My flatmates thought there was something wrong with me because there'd be all this noise as I stumbled about laughing, followed by silence as I'd have to lay down and rest. You're either wise and in possession of a sense of humour or you're
One volume editions are basically omnibuses of a nine volume work. I split it up and read a volume as and when I fancied it. Worked for me and it aped the original way readers would have come across it. This is a long and intense book. It would be difficult to read it though without flagging. Sterne definitely flags over the writing of it. I understand he was terminally ill at the time. Also, by splitting it you see more clearly how Sterne's meta-position as author shifts as he becomes self-conscious under criticism.
A quick word on editions. The 1997 Penguin Classics edition and it's reprints is basically a reprint of the Florida edition (the standard modern edition) but with slightly fewer notes. Very lightly modernised. I recommend it. Whatever edition you go for, make sure it doesn't modernise the punctuation. A lot of the punctuation marks are jokes. Also, try to get an edition with notes. A lot of the jokes are about penises but there's a lot of stuff about John Locke which is frankly over my head.
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not: you'll either read it or you won't.One volume editions are basically omnibuses of a nine volume work. I split it up and read a volume as and when I fancied it. Worked for me and it aped the original way readers would have come across it. This is a long and intense book. It would be difficult to read it though without flagging. Sterne definitely flags over the writing of it. I understand he was terminally ill at the time. Also, by splitting it you see more clearly how Sterne's meta-position as author shifts as he becomes self-conscious under criticism.
A quick word on editions. The 1997 Penguin Classics edition and it's reprints is basically a reprint of the Florida edition (the standard modern edition) but with slightly fewer notes. Very lightly modernised. I recommend it. Whatever edition you go for, make sure it doesn't modernise the punctuation. A lot of the punctuation marks are jokes. Also, try to get an edition with notes. A lot of the jokes are about penises but there's a lot of stuff about John Locke which is frankly over my head.
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LibraryThing member jwhenderson
As its title suggests, the book is ostensibly Tristram's narration of his life story. But central to the novel is the theme of not explaining anything simply, thus there are explanatory diversions to add context and colour to his tale, to the extent that we do not even reach Tristram's own birth
Most of the action is concerned with domestic upsets or misunderstandings, which find humour in the opposing temperaments of Walter—splenetic, rational and somewhat sarcastic—and Uncle Toby, who is gentle, uncomplicated and a lover of his fellow man. "The long-nosed Stranger of Strasburg": Book IV opens with a story from one of Walter's favourite books, a collection of stories in Latin about noses.
In between such events, Tristram as narrator finds himself discoursing at length on sexual practices, insults, the influence of one's name, noses, as well as explorations of obstetrics, siege warfare and philosophy, as he struggles to marshal his material and finish the story of his life. What makes this novel remarkable is the seeming modernity of the technique and style. As with Rabelais, Sterne does not follow the "rules" for writing a novel, thus one encounters multiple allusions to other writers and their works and interjections of many kinds into the novel so that you begin to wonder what kind of book this is. Sterne was particularly influenced by Rabelais and his bawdy humor is no doubt due in part to that influence. This is not an easy read but one worth taking in small sections, a bit at a time. Having read Tristram Shandy you may be ready for twenty-first century post-modern literature or you may want to hang up the idea of literature altogether.
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until Volume III. However, beginning the narrative before one has been born is not unique in literature, for example see the opening chapter of David Copperfield. Consequently, apart from Tristram as narrator, the most familiar and important characters in the book are his father Walter, his mother, his Uncle Toby, Toby's servant Trim, and a supporting cast of minor characters including Doctor Slop and the parson Yorick (no doubt inspired by Shakespeare).Most of the action is concerned with domestic upsets or misunderstandings, which find humour in the opposing temperaments of Walter—splenetic, rational and somewhat sarcastic—and Uncle Toby, who is gentle, uncomplicated and a lover of his fellow man. "The long-nosed Stranger of Strasburg": Book IV opens with a story from one of Walter's favourite books, a collection of stories in Latin about noses.
In between such events, Tristram as narrator finds himself discoursing at length on sexual practices, insults, the influence of one's name, noses, as well as explorations of obstetrics, siege warfare and philosophy, as he struggles to marshal his material and finish the story of his life. What makes this novel remarkable is the seeming modernity of the technique and style. As with Rabelais, Sterne does not follow the "rules" for writing a novel, thus one encounters multiple allusions to other writers and their works and interjections of many kinds into the novel so that you begin to wonder what kind of book this is. Sterne was particularly influenced by Rabelais and his bawdy humor is no doubt due in part to that influence. This is not an easy read but one worth taking in small sections, a bit at a time. Having read Tristram Shandy you may be ready for twenty-first century post-modern literature or you may want to hang up the idea of literature altogether.
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LibraryThing member gbill
Wildly inventive in its time for its completely nontraditional approach, with infinite digressions and absurdities taking the place of most of the biographical story-telling, but a slog to get through 250 years later. The prose is dense, with countless references that require extensive footnoting
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to make sense of, and the humor is dated. Ironically the very first chapter of volume one is the most memorable, with Sterne wryly telling us of what happened while his father and mother were in the act of conceiving him. The portraits we later get of his opinionated father and his gentle Uncle Toby, who likes talking about siege warfare over anything else, are mildly amusing, as are the bits of high-brow bawdiness sprinkled in. Less interesting is the satire of various theories of the day (now quite obscure), detailed references to the works of John Locke, and the digressions that lasted for tens of pages, where the length I think was supposed to be part of the humor. This is a novel I liked more for what it represents than I liked actually reading, and had to take breaks from. When reading becomes such a chore, it’s telling you something. Show Less
LibraryThing member tungsten_peerts
I find it nearly impossible to review this, since it is one of my favorite novels of all time, makes me laugh even on a crowded Boston, MA bus and is apparently a classic that few people read (at least according to the essay in the back of my Signet Classics edition). Walter and Toby Shandy, Doctor
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Slop and Corporal Trim are as real to me as my bus companions -- more real, in fact, because at least the characters in Tristram Shandy have emotions. Show Less
LibraryThing member isabelx
Is it not a shame to make two chapters of what passed in going down one pair of stairs? for we are got no further yet than to the first landing, and there are fifteen more steps down to the bottom; and for aught I know, as my father and my uncle Toby are in a talking humour there may be as many
Tristram Shandy is one of my father's favourite books and he passed this copy onto me about four years ago. Two days after I started it, I found out that a film (starring Steve Coogan, Rob Brydon and Gillian Anderson) has just been made of this notoriously unfilmable novel and has been getting rave reviews at film festivals. It's due out here in the New Year, so reading the book now was very good timing on my part.
The shaggy dog story to end all shaggy dog stories. Supposedly the autobiography of Tristram Shandy, it is really a novel about how novel-writing and how a novel can't really hope to represent real life. Hardly a chapter goes by without yet another digression from the main story, as Tristram decides that we really need to know some other bit of background before he can continue with the action, and he only gets round to the author's preface towards the end of volume 3! It is a very funny book but quite heavy going, what with the 18th century language and the plethora of technical terms to do with siege-works causing continual flicking to the notes at the back of the book, so it has taken me getting on for four weeks to read.
Favourite character: The wonderfully enthusiastic and sweet-natured Captain Shandy (Tristram's Uncle Toby).
Most frustrating digression: Tristram's trip to France, which has nothing to do with the story and takes up the whole of Volume VII, just as he seems on the point of finally getting round to telling the story of Uncle Toby's relationship with widow Wadman.
Best use of asterisks: The maid Susanna, who has forgotten to put a ******* *** under the five-year-old Tristram's bed, asking him to **** *** ** *** ******.
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chapters as steps; - let that be as it will, Sir, I can no more help it than my destiny:Tristram Shandy is one of my father's favourite books and he passed this copy onto me about four years ago. Two days after I started it, I found out that a film (starring Steve Coogan, Rob Brydon and Gillian Anderson) has just been made of this notoriously unfilmable novel and has been getting rave reviews at film festivals. It's due out here in the New Year, so reading the book now was very good timing on my part.
The shaggy dog story to end all shaggy dog stories. Supposedly the autobiography of Tristram Shandy, it is really a novel about how novel-writing and how a novel can't really hope to represent real life. Hardly a chapter goes by without yet another digression from the main story, as Tristram decides that we really need to know some other bit of background before he can continue with the action, and he only gets round to the author's preface towards the end of volume 3! It is a very funny book but quite heavy going, what with the 18th century language and the plethora of technical terms to do with siege-works causing continual flicking to the notes at the back of the book, so it has taken me getting on for four weeks to read.
Favourite character: The wonderfully enthusiastic and sweet-natured Captain Shandy (Tristram's Uncle Toby).
Most frustrating digression: Tristram's trip to France, which has nothing to do with the story and takes up the whole of Volume VII, just as he seems on the point of finally getting round to telling the story of Uncle Toby's relationship with widow Wadman.
Best use of asterisks: The maid Susanna, who has forgotten to put a ******* *** under the five-year-old Tristram's bed, asking him to **** *** ** *** ******.
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LibraryThing member endersreads
First let me say that I very much enjoyed Christopher Ricks' introduction. I am usually only immensely angered by introductions—this one, however, was fascinating. Also, the notes are delightful, and quite lengthy, as the novel is encyclopedic in knowledge.
Walter and Captain Toby Shandy have
This novel is such a work of genius that it would be ridiculous for me to attempt to review it in earnest. I feel a bit like Tristram did in that "I don't know where to begin".
I will say that I had planned to paste a picture of Gillian Anderson onto the blank page in which the reader is to draw an idealized lady. The marbled pages were over my head.
The novel is quite chaotic—wheels within wheels, digressions within digressions, time jumps, geographical jumps, et cetera. The thread which is consistent in its time scheme throughout the novel are the 2 wars against France.
Of all of the novel's events, of all Tristram's own commentaries, I enjoy most the angry philosophical rants of Tristram's well-read father, Walter. Both Tristram and Laurence are very odd fellows, which is why we love them! I also love that Sterne and Tristram were quite fond of Don Quixote.
Walter and Captain Toby Shandy have
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become quite dear to my heart. I am still in the dark as to Toby's groin injury. I wonder if Mrs. Wadman's curiosity was ever satiated? I fear they were married. This novel is such a work of genius that it would be ridiculous for me to attempt to review it in earnest. I feel a bit like Tristram did in that "I don't know where to begin".
I will say that I had planned to paste a picture of Gillian Anderson onto the blank page in which the reader is to draw an idealized lady. The marbled pages were over my head.
The novel is quite chaotic—wheels within wheels, digressions within digressions, time jumps, geographical jumps, et cetera. The thread which is consistent in its time scheme throughout the novel are the 2 wars against France.
Of all of the novel's events, of all Tristram's own commentaries, I enjoy most the angry philosophical rants of Tristram's well-read father, Walter. Both Tristram and Laurence are very odd fellows, which is why we love them! I also love that Sterne and Tristram were quite fond of Don Quixote.
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LibraryThing member stillatim
I wonder what Sterne would have thought of all the theorising about this book? The introduction to this volume claims that we should read 'Shandy' because it will help us avoid the 'rationalism' of 'totalitarianism' of the twentieth century; that we are too much like Mrs Wadman, who wants to know
Of course, this idiocy is exactly what Sterne was writing against- not against rationalism, but against superstition uninformed by history or heart; not against rationalism, but against stupidity. That many literary critics (especially the 'postmodern' ones) can't distinguish between the two says more about the way we talk about our world than about the world itself, which is plainly and continuously stupid, and not at all rational.
Roy Porter says this book is 250 years ahead of its time, but the truth is, Barth and Leyner - and all the over specialists without spirit & sensualists without heart - are 250 years behind it. Sterne exhausted the form he created.
That rant over, this is a really funny dick joke. Plenty of the references are stale (unless you're really into seventeenth and eighteenth century theories of medicine, warfare, etc etc...), but you'll get the point pretty quickly anyway. But whatever you do, read it without the introductory material- there's nothing worse than explaining a dick joke as if it were an earth-shatteringly huge political statement, and Sterne knew it.
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if Uncle Toby has a penis or not. We should leave the fortress unpenetrated, the mystery unrevealed, the riddle unsolved. Of course, this idiocy is exactly what Sterne was writing against- not against rationalism, but against superstition uninformed by history or heart; not against rationalism, but against stupidity. That many literary critics (especially the 'postmodern' ones) can't distinguish between the two says more about the way we talk about our world than about the world itself, which is plainly and continuously stupid, and not at all rational.
Roy Porter says this book is 250 years ahead of its time, but the truth is, Barth and Leyner - and all the over specialists without spirit & sensualists without heart - are 250 years behind it. Sterne exhausted the form he created.
That rant over, this is a really funny dick joke. Plenty of the references are stale (unless you're really into seventeenth and eighteenth century theories of medicine, warfare, etc etc...), but you'll get the point pretty quickly anyway. But whatever you do, read it without the introductory material- there's nothing worse than explaining a dick joke as if it were an earth-shatteringly huge political statement, and Sterne knew it.
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LibraryThing member LisaMaria_C
There’s nothing quite like this in all the books I’ve read. Although in its erudition and exuberance and experimentation and bawdiness and its massive digressions it reminds me in some ways of Melville’s Moby Dick, in other ways of Lewis Carroll’s Alice books, and in other ways of Joyce’s
I can think of friends I bet would just love this book. The ones who loved James Joyce’s Ulysses? I bet you would find this a hit. This reads more like modern extreme whackadoodle than traditional novel. Well, it was written from 1759 to 1767 in nine installments back when the novel could hardly be called a tradition. There’s just all kinds of weirdness. The title character isn’t even born until the third volume of nine. (He keeps telling us he’ll tell us about it, then keeps meandering and rambling on different subjects.) There are lots of allusions to Hamlet, Don Quixote, and even Locke’s An Essay Concerning Human Understanding. Early on in the first volume, after a character dies, the next two pages are black as if in mourning. Later, the narrator talks about penetrating the meaning of the “next marbled page (motly emblem of my work!)”--and the facing page is--marbled. Two chapters consist of blank pages, other chapters appear out of sequence. In one chapter there are “squiggly graphs” and in another a “twirling line” as the Introduction puts it. There are mad uses of asterisks. And digressions are very much part of the design--Sterne revels in them:
Digressions, incontestably, are the sun-shine;--they are the life, the soul of reading. --take them out of this book for instance,--you might as well take the book along with them;--one cold eternal winter would reign in every page of it; restore them to the writer;--he steps forth like a bridegroom,--bids All-hail; brings in variety and forbids the appetite to fail.
The point seems to be pointlessness. And you know, in the end you really don’t hear much about Tristam Shandy’s life--even if you do hear much of his opinions. Ugh. This is just too rambling and chaotic for me. You know, I read that Sterne’s favorite author is Rabelais--and I detested his Gargantua and Pantagruel, especially because it was filled with bathroom humor. I couldn’t make myself finish Swift’s “Tale of a Tub” either, and as the Introduction to this edition notes, Sterne was indebted to both. If that’s more your style of humor you may revel in this. I liked this a bit more at least than either of its models, though not enough to feel this was worth enduring to the end. Parts I did find funny, and it’s often clever, but at 578 pages the extended joke of narrative interruptus wore out its welcome long before we ever got to Tristram’s birth.
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Ulysses. I can think of friends I bet would just love this book. The ones who loved James Joyce’s Ulysses? I bet you would find this a hit. This reads more like modern extreme whackadoodle than traditional novel. Well, it was written from 1759 to 1767 in nine installments back when the novel could hardly be called a tradition. There’s just all kinds of weirdness. The title character isn’t even born until the third volume of nine. (He keeps telling us he’ll tell us about it, then keeps meandering and rambling on different subjects.) There are lots of allusions to Hamlet, Don Quixote, and even Locke’s An Essay Concerning Human Understanding. Early on in the first volume, after a character dies, the next two pages are black as if in mourning. Later, the narrator talks about penetrating the meaning of the “next marbled page (motly emblem of my work!)”--and the facing page is--marbled. Two chapters consist of blank pages, other chapters appear out of sequence. In one chapter there are “squiggly graphs” and in another a “twirling line” as the Introduction puts it. There are mad uses of asterisks. And digressions are very much part of the design--Sterne revels in them:
Digressions, incontestably, are the sun-shine;--they are the life, the soul of reading. --take them out of this book for instance,--you might as well take the book along with them;--one cold eternal winter would reign in every page of it; restore them to the writer;--he steps forth like a bridegroom,--bids All-hail; brings in variety and forbids the appetite to fail.
The point seems to be pointlessness. And you know, in the end you really don’t hear much about Tristam Shandy’s life--even if you do hear much of his opinions. Ugh. This is just too rambling and chaotic for me. You know, I read that Sterne’s favorite author is Rabelais--and I detested his Gargantua and Pantagruel, especially because it was filled with bathroom humor. I couldn’t make myself finish Swift’s “Tale of a Tub” either, and as the Introduction to this edition notes, Sterne was indebted to both. If that’s more your style of humor you may revel in this. I liked this a bit more at least than either of its models, though not enough to feel this was worth enduring to the end. Parts I did find funny, and it’s often clever, but at 578 pages the extended joke of narrative interruptus wore out its welcome long before we ever got to Tristram’s birth.
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LibraryThing member sb3000
Perhaps the most digressive book ever written. Surprisingly bawdy (esp. given that it was written by an 18th century clergyman), quite funny, somewhat intimidating, definitely rough going at times, but in the end probably one of my favorite books. The degree to which Sterne undermines, defies,
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parodies, and otherwise thwarts ever known convention of fiction is surprising even if you're familiar with the book's reputation (or have seen Michael Winterbottom's movie version). One hell of a ride (though a long one). Show Less
LibraryThing member Amelia_Smith
Why is this book a classic? How is it that people have been reading this collection of words for 250 years? I read something a few years ago which put Tristam Shandy on my to-read list, but by the time I got started on it I'd forgotten exactly what had triggered my interest. I plowed through. The
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book has no plot, but continually hints that there might be a plot coming, if only you'll hold out a little while longer. It's just a series of anecdotes and digressions, and while it has some entertaining moments, on the whole it is one of the more mind-numbingly boring books I've ever read. But it's a classic, and I feel virtuous for having finished it. Now I'm off to read some 21st century pulp to clear my palate. Show Less
LibraryThing member Helena81
I couldn't finish this book, although I tried my hardest. I read about 30%, but it's just so meandering and aimless. I know that people enjoy the rambling narrative and find Tristram a comical narrator, but I just found it annoying and self-satisfied. And if I have to read the words "my uncle Toby"
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one more time I'm going to scream. Show Less
LibraryThing member P_S_Patrick
This is an odd novel, with a substantial portion of the content being made up of eccentric digressions and anecdotes from the main characters. There are bits of a storyline, but they seem only secondary to the rest of the book. But, this does not make it a bad novel; it works as well as many novels
The book is made distinctive by its unusual formatting tricks, which would seem modern in a contemporary book, and must have surprised the eighteenth century reader and contemporary of the author. Combined with the silly humour, this produces a type of entertainment which comes as much from wit as it does from momentary bafflement. Some parts of the book become serious, but these usually have the effect of building up towards some irreverent jest or situation.
Sterne was also a scholar, as is apparent from the book, as well as an inventive author, and it seems unusual that he only wrote a small number of books.
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which have a strong storyline, though this style might not agree with readers who require more momentum.The book is made distinctive by its unusual formatting tricks, which would seem modern in a contemporary book, and must have surprised the eighteenth century reader and contemporary of the author. Combined with the silly humour, this produces a type of entertainment which comes as much from wit as it does from momentary bafflement. Some parts of the book become serious, but these usually have the effect of building up towards some irreverent jest or situation.
Sterne was also a scholar, as is apparent from the book, as well as an inventive author, and it seems unusual that he only wrote a small number of books.
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LibraryThing member RussellBittner
I came to this work out of a long-standing curiosity. My curiosity was piqued – for roughly 100 pages – but then, no longer. I simply gave up.
Sterne gives a whole new dimension to the word ‘digression.’ It wasn’t his vocabulary, his occasionally odd spelling and punctuation, his rather
A book or story doesn’t necessarily have to be linear to hold my interest. But it’s got to go somewhere. This one didn’t seem to be going much of anywhere.
I’ve elected not to give any stars to this review simply because I don’t trust my own judgment. Sterne’s Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman is considered a classic, and classics don’t get to be classics by default. Hence, I’ll take the fault as my own.
I will, however, conclude with one nugget (of which there are many!) I found already on p. 49. This one makes Sterne sound almost clairvoyant: “…(w)hen that happens, it is to be hoped, it will put an end to all kind of writings whatsoever;—the want of all kind of writing will put an end to all kind of reading;---and that in time, As war begets poverty, poverty peace,—-must, in course, put an end to all kind of knowledge,---and then—-we shall have all to begin over again; or, in other words, be exactly where we started.”
RRB
11/07/14
Brooklyn, NY
Sterne gives a whole new dimension to the word ‘digression.’ It wasn’t his vocabulary, his occasionally odd spelling and punctuation, his rather
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esoteric (and numerous!) references, the small print on these pages, or even the smaller print on page after page of footnotes that put me off. Rather, it was the digression within a digression within a digression that slowly wore me down to a frazzle.A book or story doesn’t necessarily have to be linear to hold my interest. But it’s got to go somewhere. This one didn’t seem to be going much of anywhere.
I’ve elected not to give any stars to this review simply because I don’t trust my own judgment. Sterne’s Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman is considered a classic, and classics don’t get to be classics by default. Hence, I’ll take the fault as my own.
I will, however, conclude with one nugget (of which there are many!) I found already on p. 49. This one makes Sterne sound almost clairvoyant: “…(w)hen that happens, it is to be hoped, it will put an end to all kind of writings whatsoever;—the want of all kind of writing will put an end to all kind of reading;---and that in time, As war begets poverty, poverty peace,—-must, in course, put an end to all kind of knowledge,---and then—-we shall have all to begin over again; or, in other words, be exactly where we started.”
RRB
11/07/14
Brooklyn, NY
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LibraryThing member mnicol
Published over 8 years 1759-67. Read in 8 years, the first 3 volumes several times! Much easier to finish after appreciating the Sentimental Journey. Now to re-read. The jokes - in the words, typography, presentation - are as awesome as they are unexpected. The Rob Brydon/Steve whatshisname film, A
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Tale of cock and bull, inspired the reading effort back in 2011. Show Less
LibraryThing member CBJames
It took me almost a year longer than I originally planned, but I've finished The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman, by Laurence Sterne.
I loved it.
I've seldom had so much fun with classic literature.
And I'm pleased to say that Mr. Sterne saved his best for last.
The final two books,
One day she overhears Toby and his man-servant Trim discussing which is more painful, a knee injury or a groin injury. Afterwards, she is understandly interested in the extent of Uncle Toby's wound. She meets with him in the scenes that follow and finds Tody is happy to discuss his wound and more than willing so show her exactly where he was wounded. He takes her to the large scale model of the Battle of Namur, breaks out his measuring equiptment and pinpoints the exact location where he was standing when the bullet struck his groin.
Widow Wadman is understandably frustrated.
The end of the novel threw me for something of a loop. Sir Tristram is exponding on a grand point of philosophy to his brother Toby, Yorick and Dr. Slop, as is his wont, when Obediah comes rushing in to complain about Sir Tristram's bull. Sir Tristram's old bull was supposed to sire a calf for Obediah's cow, but the time has come and the cow has not calved, so suspicion has fallen on the bull. It can't be the bull's fault, swears Sir Tristram, becuase he goes about his business with grave expression thereby proving his capability. It's must be the bull's fault, says Dr. Slop for the cow was hairy at the time and therefore in heat. What's this story all about, asks Mrs. Shandy.
"A Cock and a Bull, said Yorick--And one of the best of its kind, I ever heard."
I had to look it up.
A cock and bull story is a wildly fanciful tale that strays from subject to subject. The phrase may have come from Stony Stratford, England where there used to be two rival inns, The Cock and The Bull. At each inn, people would gather and tell boastful tales that often made fun of those who frequented the rival inn.
That in the novel's final line Mr. Sterne dismisses the entire preceeding 526 pages as so much nonsense seems fitting to me. That he does so in a way that references breeding, Toby's war wound, and all that stuff about the importance of big noses from earlier in the book is just a little bit brilliant. A book like Tristram Shandy can't really have a proper ending; it simply has to stop.
As it is, it's a very good stop.
I loved it.
I've seldom had so much fun with classic literature.
And I'm pleased to say that Mr. Sterne saved his best for last.
The final two books,
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probably the most popular sections in the novel, concern Uncle Toby's romance with the Widow Wadman who lives as tenant-for-life nextdoor to the Shandy estate. Mrs. Wadman has spent the length of the novel watching the growth of Toby's large scale model of the Battle of Namur where he recieved his groin wound. Over time, she has become attracted to Toby, both the the man and to the estate he shares with his brother. Tristram, our narrator, speculates that she may still want children as she is still young; the reader soon understands that whether she wants children or not, she clearly wants both romance and sex.One day she overhears Toby and his man-servant Trim discussing which is more painful, a knee injury or a groin injury. Afterwards, she is understandly interested in the extent of Uncle Toby's wound. She meets with him in the scenes that follow and finds Tody is happy to discuss his wound and more than willing so show her exactly where he was wounded. He takes her to the large scale model of the Battle of Namur, breaks out his measuring equiptment and pinpoints the exact location where he was standing when the bullet struck his groin.
Widow Wadman is understandably frustrated.
The end of the novel threw me for something of a loop. Sir Tristram is exponding on a grand point of philosophy to his brother Toby, Yorick and Dr. Slop, as is his wont, when Obediah comes rushing in to complain about Sir Tristram's bull. Sir Tristram's old bull was supposed to sire a calf for Obediah's cow, but the time has come and the cow has not calved, so suspicion has fallen on the bull. It can't be the bull's fault, swears Sir Tristram, becuase he goes about his business with grave expression thereby proving his capability. It's must be the bull's fault, says Dr. Slop for the cow was hairy at the time and therefore in heat. What's this story all about, asks Mrs. Shandy.
"A Cock and a Bull, said Yorick--And one of the best of its kind, I ever heard."
I had to look it up.
A cock and bull story is a wildly fanciful tale that strays from subject to subject. The phrase may have come from Stony Stratford, England where there used to be two rival inns, The Cock and The Bull. At each inn, people would gather and tell boastful tales that often made fun of those who frequented the rival inn.
That in the novel's final line Mr. Sterne dismisses the entire preceeding 526 pages as so much nonsense seems fitting to me. That he does so in a way that references breeding, Toby's war wound, and all that stuff about the importance of big noses from earlier in the book is just a little bit brilliant. A book like Tristram Shandy can't really have a proper ending; it simply has to stop.
As it is, it's a very good stop.
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LibraryThing member AlCracka
"Read, read, read, read, my unlearned reader! Read...for without much reading, by which, your reverence knows, I mean much knowledge, you will no more be able to penetrate the meaning of my next marbled page (motly emblem of my work!) than the world with all its sagacity has been able to unravel
There's the most-quoted bit from Tristram Shandy, which is full of references to obscure works, works made up, works misquoted, and works wholly plagiarized.
Well, okay, Shandy is an experiment. Titularly the story of its narrator, it turns out to be something entirely different: a story about his uncle, his father, the passage of time, the difficulty of telling a story...noses...it's anything other than Tristram Shandy's story. It's been described as a perfect capture of the way the mind works: twisting back on itself, skipping, tangentializing. And yeah, that's how my mind works, too, and as far as that documentation goes, it's bravura. But isn't the point of writing a novel to concentrate your mind, to focus all those disparate thoughts into a coherent whole? If I wrote down my mind right now, I would tell you about this book, Eric B & Rakim on my CD player, my dog snoring, my wife asleep, my left calf aching slightly, the wine in my mouth, I suspect this review doesn't make much sense, and not in an awesome post-modern way, my fingers are a little cold, I'm still puzzling about a dream I had last night in which I told my wife that while she was gone on a business trip I'd shovel out the eight inches of sand I'd covered the floor of our library with, which she's been surprisingly obliging about but I was starting to get the impression that enough is enough...
That's not a very good narrative, and even the most forgiving of Tristram Shandy's critics have admitted that it's not a page-turner. The word is self-indulgent.
Shandy belongs to the Quixotic tradition - not as in the word, but as in the talking about the Cervantick [sic] influence - and I love that genre. It's writing about writing, and I was hoping to love this book, and I was excited about lots of parts of Shandy. For example: the page following the quote that opens this review is marbled; it was different, then, in every edition of this book as it was originally published. That's weird, and not lamely weird. There's also a part where Sterne threatens to describe the widow Wadman and then just leaves the next page blank, so you can draw her yourself, "as like your mistress as you like - as unlike your wife as your conscience will let you." (VI.38)
And he leaves IV.24 out because, he says, he realized after writing it that it was so good it would throw the balance of the rest of the book off; it would make everything else seem worse by comparison. Again, that's a funny joke. But I found myself a little disappointed by IV.25, because unlike 24, it existed. And when one finds oneself wishing that all of the chapters of a book had been excluded, one has to admit that one may not be enjoying reading it.
Tristram Shandy is a clever book. It might even be a worthwhile book, if you're really interested in books. But it's a bitch to read.
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the many opinions, transactions and truths which still lie mystically hid under the dark veil of the black one." (III.35)There's the most-quoted bit from Tristram Shandy, which is full of references to obscure works, works made up, works misquoted, and works wholly plagiarized.
Well, okay, Shandy is an experiment. Titularly the story of its narrator, it turns out to be something entirely different: a story about his uncle, his father, the passage of time, the difficulty of telling a story...noses...it's anything other than Tristram Shandy's story. It's been described as a perfect capture of the way the mind works: twisting back on itself, skipping, tangentializing. And yeah, that's how my mind works, too, and as far as that documentation goes, it's bravura. But isn't the point of writing a novel to concentrate your mind, to focus all those disparate thoughts into a coherent whole? If I wrote down my mind right now, I would tell you about this book, Eric B & Rakim on my CD player, my dog snoring, my wife asleep, my left calf aching slightly, the wine in my mouth, I suspect this review doesn't make much sense, and not in an awesome post-modern way, my fingers are a little cold, I'm still puzzling about a dream I had last night in which I told my wife that while she was gone on a business trip I'd shovel out the eight inches of sand I'd covered the floor of our library with, which she's been surprisingly obliging about but I was starting to get the impression that enough is enough...
That's not a very good narrative, and even the most forgiving of Tristram Shandy's critics have admitted that it's not a page-turner. The word is self-indulgent.
Shandy belongs to the Quixotic tradition - not as in the word, but as in the talking about the Cervantick [sic] influence - and I love that genre. It's writing about writing, and I was hoping to love this book, and I was excited about lots of parts of Shandy. For example: the page following the quote that opens this review is marbled; it was different, then, in every edition of this book as it was originally published. That's weird, and not lamely weird. There's also a part where Sterne threatens to describe the widow Wadman and then just leaves the next page blank, so you can draw her yourself, "as like your mistress as you like - as unlike your wife as your conscience will let you." (VI.38)
And he leaves IV.24 out because, he says, he realized after writing it that it was so good it would throw the balance of the rest of the book off; it would make everything else seem worse by comparison. Again, that's a funny joke. But I found myself a little disappointed by IV.25, because unlike 24, it existed. And when one finds oneself wishing that all of the chapters of a book had been excluded, one has to admit that one may not be enjoying reading it.
Tristram Shandy is a clever book. It might even be a worthwhile book, if you're really interested in books. But it's a bitch to read.
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LibraryThing member jmoncton
From the title, you might expect this book to be a memoir, or at least a story with a linear plot. If that is what you want to read, then DO NOT pick up this book. But if you want to be entertained and read about humorous thoughts regarding buttons, hobby horses, and other unrelated and bizarre
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topics, then this is the book for you. I was definitely surprised and entertained by this story. Show Less
LibraryThing member Dreesie
Phew! This book is funny, absurd, and exhausting. And has one of the best last lines ever--but did it need 600 pages to get there?
There is so much going on in this novel, yet there is also very little. Tristram isn't even born until well into the book. His father Walter, his mother, his Uncle Toby
This is definitely dated based on the number of footnotes needed to explain people/books/events that we today don't know anything about. This makes it somewhat hard to read, as I am sure there are a lot of contextual jokes that even a footnote cannot explain. But this is a very unusual book. Certainly for its time, but also for today.
But I am glad to be done.
There is so much going on in this novel, yet there is also very little. Tristram isn't even born until well into the book. His father Walter, his mother, his Uncle Toby
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(who really seems to be the main character), Toby's assistant/corporal Trim, Yorick, Dr Slop, Susanna, the Widow Waldman, Bridget, Obadiah. The war injuries, the mocked up towns in the garden, the doctor vs the midwife, Tristram's broken nose and wrong name, the clothing, the travel in France. Just everything. This is definitely dated based on the number of footnotes needed to explain people/books/events that we today don't know anything about. This makes it somewhat hard to read, as I am sure there are a lot of contextual jokes that even a footnote cannot explain. But this is a very unusual book. Certainly for its time, but also for today.
But I am glad to be done.
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LibraryThing member Benedict8
I so admire this book! I guess I was not quite gasping when I finished this book, but I wish I could write like Sterne.
LibraryThing member ursula
I've wrestled with what to write about Tristram Shandy since I finished it. It isn't a book you can sum up very well, and the most entertaining bits of it are best found on your own, I think.
So I'll just say this: it's not as hard to read as you might think. The language takes some getting used to,
Recommended for: anyone who's up for a bit of a challenge, people who are okay with the absurd.
Quote: "But my father's mind took unfortunately a wrong turn in the investigation; running, like the hypercritic's, altogether upon the ringing of the bell and the rap upon the door, -- measuring their distance, and keeping his mind so intent upon the operation, as to have power to think of nothing else, -- commonplace infirmity of the greatest mathematicians! working with might and main at the demonstration and so wasting all their strength upon it, that they have none left in them to draw the corollary, to do good with."
So I'll just say this: it's not as hard to read as you might think. The language takes some getting used to,
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and I read it at a pace of 20-30 pages a day. But you do acclimate to it and get into a rhythm. And yes, it's full of digressions and stories within stories and soliloquies about battles and fortifications, but it's also full of moments that make you go "wait, what did he just say?!" and make you re-evaluate what you thought you knew about propriety in the 18th century.Recommended for: anyone who's up for a bit of a challenge, people who are okay with the absurd.
Quote: "But my father's mind took unfortunately a wrong turn in the investigation; running, like the hypercritic's, altogether upon the ringing of the bell and the rap upon the door, -- measuring their distance, and keeping his mind so intent upon the operation, as to have power to think of nothing else, -- commonplace infirmity of the greatest mathematicians! working with might and main at the demonstration and so wasting all their strength upon it, that they have none left in them to draw the corollary, to do good with."
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LibraryThing member joeydag
I do remember this extremely silly book. It was amusing.
LibraryThing member williamcostiganjr
This is a very fanciful, whimsical book, and--stylistically--well ahead of its time. However, the subject matter is quite archaic. I made it about 300 pages in before I had gotten tired of all the digressions, and stopped reading it. It's a funny book and fairly entertaining--worth looking at, but
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after a while it grows tiresome. Show Less
LibraryThing member kritikarr
One of my all-time favourite novels! You would not believe it was written in the 18th century for all the literary experiments it contains (black pages, crazy lines to illustrate the plot development...). Some readers may be frustrated with the rambling narrative, but if it suits your sense of
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humour like it does mine, you will love it. Really, it's just stark raving mad! Suck it, Martin Amis! This classic kicks some postmodern ass... Show Less
Subjects
Awards
Language
Original publication date
1759
Physical description
656 p.; 6.9 inches
ISBN
0140430199 / 9780140430196
Local notes
The Penguin English Library