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Laurence Sterne
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Tristram Shandy (Wordsworth Classics) Paperback – October 4, 1999

by Laurence Sterne (Author)
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 155 ratings
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Tristram Shandy by Laurance Sterne. With a new Introduction by Cedric Watts, Research Professor of English, University of Sussex Laurence Sterne s The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman is a huge literary paradox, for it is both a novel and an anti-novel. As a comic novel replete with bawdy humour and generous sentiments, it introduces us to a vivid group of memorable characters, variously eccentric, farcical and endearing. As an anti-novel, it is a deliberately tantalising and exuberantly egoistic work, ostentatiously digressive, involving the reader in the labyrinthine creation of a purported autobiography. This mercurial eighteenth-century text thus anticipates modernism and postmodernism. Vibrant and bizarre, Tristram Shandy provides an unforgettable experience. We may see why Nietzsche termed Sterne the most liberated spirit of all time .
Previous page
  1. Print length
    480 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Wordsworth Editions Ltd
  4. Publication date
    October 4, 1999
  5. Dimensions
    5 x 1.1 x 7.7 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    9781853262913
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1853262913
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

(in full The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman) Experimental novel by Laurence Sterne, published in nine volumes from 1759 to 1767. 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 himself to the nature of his family, environment, and heredity, and the dealings within that family offer repeated images of human unrelatedness and disconnection. The narrator is isolated in his own privacy and doubts how much, if anything, he can know for certain even about himself. 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 is recognized as one of the most important forerunners of psychological fiction.Sterne himself published volumes 1 and 2 at York late in 1759, but he sent half of the imprint to London to be sold. By March, when he went to London, Tristram Shandy was the rage, and he was famous. His London bookseller brought out a second edition and two more volumes of Tristram Shandy; thereafter, Sterne was his own publisher. --The Merriam-Webster Encyclopedia of Literature

About the Author

Laurence Sterne (1713-68) was a clergyman. The Life of Tristram Shandy made him a celebrity and he was lavishly feted when he visited London. During the latter years of his life he alternated between there and recuperative continental travels. Melvyn and Joan New teach at the University of Florida.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ 1853262919
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Wordsworth Editions Ltd; New edition (October 4, 1999)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 480 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9781853262913
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1853262913
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5 x 1.1 x 7.7 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 155 ratings

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Laurence Sterne

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Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
4.4 out of 5
155 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

T. Young
5.0 out of 5 stars Revival
Reviewed in the United States on August 11, 2016
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Considered a classic by many, this book reminded me of a language style that may be almost obsolete in these modern, text-filled days. The story line added to this conviction by using references that demanded knowledge of both English and history. Cobwebs were swept from various corners of my mind and I felt a sense of near revival at its conclusion. Did I mention that I teach in a middle school and have felt a gradual "dumbing-down" of our curricula ?
20 people found this helpful
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aztecthrush
5.0 out of 5 stars Good pre-post-modern read
Reviewed in the United States on February 22, 2016
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Great book. Early precursor to modern lit, even post-modern with its wry tone, author intrusion, apparent wandering mind/free-range consciousness. All good fun. Actually haven't finished it yet, and the tone and other aspects may change--one of the delightful uncertainties for me--but I'm having a great time getting there.
10 people found this helpful
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John H
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United States on July 10, 2015
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You had better give this read your undivided attention. No real plot, just musings, wanderings and wry humor.
5 people found this helpful
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Valentina
5.0 out of 5 stars Read it slowly
Reviewed in the United States on August 26, 2021
I just finished this book and I miss it already, its incredibly captivating characters and slow flowing narrative. Sometimes the language was difficult for me to follow, but then I was rewarded with good humor. My advice- don't rush, savor it, such books are rare. So sorry it's not finished.
2 people found this helpful
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John Malone
4.0 out of 5 stars Unexpectedly Funny!
Reviewed in the United States on November 14, 2000
I'm a college student and chose this book to read for a British Lit project. I was not expecting much and the book seemed to start off slow, but it takes a little while to get used to Sterne's writing style. Some parts of the book are hard to get through (like a long, seemingly pointless chapter about a tour of France) but you will be rewarded with the many funny scenes and dead-on observations on life. And I love Sterne's "visual aids." Uncle Toby, Trim, and Walter are, to me, unforgettable characters. An odd novel, but surprisingly funny.
7 people found this helpful
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Ken Rydell
1.0 out of 5 stars Print is extremely small.
Reviewed in the United States on February 14, 2022
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The print size was very small
2 people found this helpful
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bill
1.0 out of 5 stars This book is crazy
Reviewed in the United States on July 25, 2019
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Got the book for a class...the gist of the book was explained and I was satisfied
One person found this helpful
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Alfredo Ontiveros Vázquez
5.0 out of 5 stars Good quality.
Reviewed in Mexico on February 3, 2023
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Just the worldworth usual: good quality paperback edition.
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Jayachandran A
5.0 out of 5 stars It is a novel by Laurence Sterne.
Reviewed in India on October 19, 2023
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It is both a novel and an anti-novel or a novel within a novel. It purportedly describes the attempts of the novelist to write his own biography. It often dispenses with proper pagination and sometimes leaves blank pages between the narrative. It has a comic effect on the mind of the reader.
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Otto
5.0 out of 5 stars Un precursore del modernismo e post-modernismo
Reviewed in Italy on February 2, 2021
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Il libro è arrivato in ottime condizioni!
Quest'opera è sicuramente molto particolare in quanto si tratta al contempo di un romanzo e di una sorta di anti-romanzo. Infatti la sua ambivalenza sta nel fatto che, nonostante vi siano molti momenti divertenti, esso in alcuni punti può risultare anche un po' pedante per via delle varie digressioni che vi sono nel testo. Ad ogni modo è sicuramente una lettura molto importante perché sono proprio queste digressioni a fare da precursore a quelle che saranno poi le correnti del modernismo e post-modernismo. Consigliatissimo!
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Otto
5.0 out of 5 stars Un precursore del modernismo e post-modernismo
Reviewed in Italy on February 2, 2021
Il libro è arrivato in ottime condizioni!
Quest'opera è sicuramente molto particolare in quanto si tratta al contempo di un romanzo e di una sorta di anti-romanzo. Infatti la sua ambivalenza sta nel fatto che, nonostante vi siano molti momenti divertenti, esso in alcuni punti può risultare anche un po' pedante per via delle varie digressioni che vi sono nel testo. Ad ogni modo è sicuramente una lettura molto importante perché sono proprio queste digressioni a fare da precursore a quelle che saranno poi le correnti del modernismo e post-modernismo. Consigliatissimo!
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Brooke Fieldhouse
5.0 out of 5 stars Not so much a story or narrative, more a book about writing a book! A joy for any writer to read.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 10, 2020
Verified Purchase
“Oh that!” exclaimed a friend of mine on seeing it lying upon my table. “…Tried reading, couldn’t see what the heck it was all about.”
We’re so used to thinking of novels as windows through which we peer, screens upon which a series of events is acted out for our delectation and comfort. Laurence Sterne’s TRISTRAM SHANDY is not a ‘page turner.’ True, there’s no plot, it’s a sit com, a sit com published in 1759 but the situation and comedy take place in 1713. There’s a cast of characters engaged in their – if somewhat eccentric – daily lives, centered upon Shandy Hall, the home of WALTER SHANDY. There’s Walter himself, irascible though somewhat distant, his long-suffering wife who ‘parrots’ everything he says. There’s a number of servants, and always dropping by are Dr Slop and the local parson Yorik. A ‘short march’ away is the house of Walter’s brother, the Lillibullero-whistling, humming, harumphing, and clay pipe-smoking TOBY. Toby’s house has a sizeable garden and bowling green attached which is fortunate as he spends his entire time reenacting sieges from the Nine Years War through scale models built by his faithful servant, retired corporal TRIM. Toby’s next-door neighbour is a widow, MRS WADMAN who has amorous designs upon the emotionally-retarded Toby, and indulges in pranks consisting of creeping up on him while he’s sitting in his sentry box, and interfering with his pipe.
Yes, his pipe. The book contains some sexual innuendo; long noses, magic sticks, and ink horns. There are references to military sieges and siege equipment. Sterne has a preoccupation with obstetrics ‘the womb of speculation,’ – ‘470 pounds avoir dupois’ being the bearing down force on a child entering the world. There are lists which even Dickens would marvel at – and almost certainly did. Sterne even lists the chapters which the reader is about to read; a chapter on the right and wrong end of a woman, a chapter on noses, one on military terms, a chapter on buttonholes, a beguiling and quite possibly trans-genderish chapter on whiskers, a chapter on Things, ‘not to mention a chapter on chapters.’ There’re all sorts of wordplay going on, for instance, we are told that Walter Shandy’s father made his money in importing turkeys, and the word turkey frequently crops up, so does Turkey, so does even the Dardanelles. Sterne chooses words predominantly because he likes the sound of them and the - often surreal - image they conjour; ‘Laplanders sleeping it off’, or the deliciously descriptive 'sewing on the shreds of yellow binding which the teeth of time had unraveled.' There's the learned interlude concerning the long-nosed Slokenbergius who just happens to be translating something from the Latin into Cherokee. For me, far from being what may be to some annoying digressions, they give a sense of Chaucerian, Cervantes or Boccaccio-like detail. Sterne is having fun, and why not?!
No doubt Dickens would have also identified with such intrusions into the narrative as; ‘will your worships give me leave to squeeze in a story between the next two pages?’ or the mischievous, ‘another pluck at your beards,’ what Sterne calls a ‘Shandyism’ – or as he later refers to it as a ‘cock and bull story.’ He’s interacting with his readers, no wonder he had fans in Paris and the USA – long before it WAS the USA! And there’s Sterne’s constant tragic references to his own health.
This is all because Tristram Shandy – or to give it its full title The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy - for me - is not so much a story or a narrative, more a book about writing a book, and a joy for any writer at any stage of their writing career to read!
6 people found this helpful
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follin
3.0 out of 5 stars satisfaite
Reviewed in France on April 25, 2013
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Livre arrivé dans les délais et en bon état, mais je l'ai offert à une amie car je n'avais pas fait attention qu'il était en anglais, langue que je ne lis pas
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