The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentlemen by Laurence Sterne; narrated by Anton Lesser | 2009; originally published 1759–1767 | Naxos Audio | Audiobook $ 29
Laurence Sterne’s great masterpiece of bawdy humour and rich satire defies any attempt to categorize it, with a rich metafictional narrative that might classify it as the first ‘postmodern’ novel. Part novel, part digression, its gloriously disordered narrative interweaves the birth and life of the unfortunate ‘hero’ Tristram Shandy, the eccentric philosophy of his father Walter, the amours and military obsessions of Uncle Toby, and a host of other characters, including Dr Slop, Corporal Trim and the parson Yorick. A joyful celebration of the endless possibilities of the art of fiction, Tristram Shandy is also a wry demonstration of its limitations.
This book is supposed to be one of the first, if not the very first, examples of stream-of-consciousness narrative in classic literature canon. It’s also consistently referenced as one of the earliest comic or satiric novels. For these reasons, I felt that my to-read list just wouldn’t be complete without it.
This is, on the surface, the life story of Tristram Shandy, as told by himself — but with so many, many, many digressions on subjects ranging from the power of particular facial features to the ethics of slavery, plus never-ending tangents into the lives of various other characters, that the ostensible story never really makes it out of the gate.
I… don’t quite know what to say about this one. The overall absurdity of the thing was certainly entertaining and there were a few really funny moments, but I have to admit that about halfway through it all started to sound extremely repetitive; the schtick got boring, to be blunt.
Reading this one was a challenge; one I’m glad I tried, but even more glad that I’m finished with.
Links:
- The Laurence Sterne Trust at Shandy Hall
- “Sterne and Sterneana” collection at the University of Cambridge
- Laurence Sterne profile from the British Library
Publication information: Stern, Laurence. The life and opinions of Tristram Shandy, gentlemen. Hong Kong: Naxos Audio, 2009. Audiobook.
Source: Public library, via Hoopla.
Disclaimer: I am not compensated, monetarily or otherwise, for reviews of books or other products.
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