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3.45 AVERAGE
3.45 AVERAGE
Postmodern before there was a modern to be post about. Hilarious.
The book bucks all traditional novel writing conventions it is difficult to read it straight through. I have been reading it off and on for a couple years now. It is VERY funny.
Alas, I couldn't get into a novel essentially about digression
Dr. Johnson said that Tristram Shandy was too odd to last as a classic. After reading it, it’s easy to understand why a man like him would not appreciate this bawdy book, especially when it openly refers to so many of his friends in an off-handed way. Even so, nearly 300 yrs later, I cracked open an edition printed in octavo paperback only a decade or two ago. Is it a classic? That’s a tricky but to crack.
Tristram Shandy is a farce in short, serialized, and regularly disjointed chapters. Referred to as “The Ultimate Shaggy Dog Story,” it ends with one of the characters referring to it as a story of a Cock and a Bull and one of the best ever told. Truth be told, the narrative is so disjointed that there is no central plot, though a few interesting events do unfold here and there. Above all else, the book displays a sort of Emperor’s New Clothes effect upon the culture it was written in, where serial publications kept readers eagerly watching book stalls to follow the next installment of their favorite novel.
My copy of Tristram Shandy covers about 575 pages of actual text, apart from prefaces, introductions, and indexes. Of those 575 pages, the functional stories developed in the book could probably be condensed into about 100 pages. The rest is an ADD mix of philosophizing and rabbit trails, stopping the story to talk about theories of literature, parenting, military engagement, etc. This is obviously the very nature of a shaggy dog story, but most of the characters commit crimes against the narrative and the narrator himself is the worst culprit. At times the comic effect is excellent, but more often than not it feels like the author is rushing out some weekly installment without any ideas for the narrative. A chapter ends on a high point of narrative tension and the next chapter talks for three pages about how the narrator wants to explain something else before he goes one and he thinks that’s okay. Then the third chapter in the sequence finally discusses the parlor maid’s experiences in Flanders or something, which never really comes back to influence the narrative we lost two chapters ago. And so forth.
Tristram Shandy is ostensibly trying to narrate and lament his own life experiences, starting with his conception and birth. His stories are filled with double-entendres and naughty jokes that are shocking from a 18th century source, but the comic effect is excellent when it isn’t too low-brow. He complains that his life started on the wrong foot then his parents were conceiving him and his mother was so distracted she asked his father if he remembered to wind the clocks mid-coitus. From there, he paints a slapdash array of stories about his life, spending 200 pages on the day of his birth before jumping to some random travels abroad and family history stories. The characters are really and truly genius inventions and many of the scenes and dialogues are worthy, but I tried to give up on this book a couple of times and learned to skim passages where his narrator discusses the merit of his own diversion. Nearly every third chapter is the narrator explaining why he should divert himself from the narrative.
Among his chief successes are the character of Tristram’s father Walter and Uncle Toby, and Uncle Toby’s servant Trim. Walter is an eccentric philosopher, a reader of obscure Greeks and Romans who has many unique ideas he vehemently holds to. He holds that names do most of the work in determining a person’s character and the story of how his son is accidentally christened with the worst name in history, Tristram, is a genius tale. Uncle Toby and Trim are old military campaigners obsessed with re-enacting military sieges on the lawn behind the house. The build towns and ramparts and day by day they reenact the effects of cannon fire and warfare on a model scale. Trim has a bad knee and Uncle Tony had the misfortune of a piece of a rampart falling upon him and wounding his “groin.” These two men are sentimental and somewhat simple, a sort of precursor to Jeeves and Wooster, with Trim being long-winded and Uncle Toby simple and sweet and a bit womanish. Walter is constantly offering diatribes that Toby cannot follow and Trim tells the saddest stories of friends and family lost to misfortune. When the widow down the street sets her sights on Uncle Toby and attempts to woo him, her efforts require incredible lengths before he gets the picture. Even so, when he does take notice and attempt to woo her back, she makes all attempts to discover the nature and location of his “groin wound” before she is ready to commit.
So much comic and character development, but it’s buried in hundreds of pages of drivel. I can’t imagine anyone I know finishing this book. Sterne got an audience on the hook, got famous as a wit, and milked this project for something like 7-8 years. In the end, it is disjointed far beyond comic effect. Like The Emperor’s New Clothes, making a joke of avoiding the point wears thin a long time before page 575.
Tristram Shandy is a farce in short, serialized, and regularly disjointed chapters. Referred to as “The Ultimate Shaggy Dog Story,” it ends with one of the characters referring to it as a story of a Cock and a Bull and one of the best ever told. Truth be told, the narrative is so disjointed that there is no central plot, though a few interesting events do unfold here and there. Above all else, the book displays a sort of Emperor’s New Clothes effect upon the culture it was written in, where serial publications kept readers eagerly watching book stalls to follow the next installment of their favorite novel.
My copy of Tristram Shandy covers about 575 pages of actual text, apart from prefaces, introductions, and indexes. Of those 575 pages, the functional stories developed in the book could probably be condensed into about 100 pages. The rest is an ADD mix of philosophizing and rabbit trails, stopping the story to talk about theories of literature, parenting, military engagement, etc. This is obviously the very nature of a shaggy dog story, but most of the characters commit crimes against the narrative and the narrator himself is the worst culprit. At times the comic effect is excellent, but more often than not it feels like the author is rushing out some weekly installment without any ideas for the narrative. A chapter ends on a high point of narrative tension and the next chapter talks for three pages about how the narrator wants to explain something else before he goes one and he thinks that’s okay. Then the third chapter in the sequence finally discusses the parlor maid’s experiences in Flanders or something, which never really comes back to influence the narrative we lost two chapters ago. And so forth.
Tristram Shandy is ostensibly trying to narrate and lament his own life experiences, starting with his conception and birth. His stories are filled with double-entendres and naughty jokes that are shocking from a 18th century source, but the comic effect is excellent when it isn’t too low-brow. He complains that his life started on the wrong foot then his parents were conceiving him and his mother was so distracted she asked his father if he remembered to wind the clocks mid-coitus. From there, he paints a slapdash array of stories about his life, spending 200 pages on the day of his birth before jumping to some random travels abroad and family history stories. The characters are really and truly genius inventions and many of the scenes and dialogues are worthy, but I tried to give up on this book a couple of times and learned to skim passages where his narrator discusses the merit of his own diversion. Nearly every third chapter is the narrator explaining why he should divert himself from the narrative.
Among his chief successes are the character of Tristram’s father Walter and Uncle Toby, and Uncle Toby’s servant Trim. Walter is an eccentric philosopher, a reader of obscure Greeks and Romans who has many unique ideas he vehemently holds to. He holds that names do most of the work in determining a person’s character and the story of how his son is accidentally christened with the worst name in history, Tristram, is a genius tale. Uncle Toby and Trim are old military campaigners obsessed with re-enacting military sieges on the lawn behind the house. The build towns and ramparts and day by day they reenact the effects of cannon fire and warfare on a model scale. Trim has a bad knee and Uncle Tony had the misfortune of a piece of a rampart falling upon him and wounding his “groin.” These two men are sentimental and somewhat simple, a sort of precursor to Jeeves and Wooster, with Trim being long-winded and Uncle Toby simple and sweet and a bit womanish. Walter is constantly offering diatribes that Toby cannot follow and Trim tells the saddest stories of friends and family lost to misfortune. When the widow down the street sets her sights on Uncle Toby and attempts to woo him, her efforts require incredible lengths before he gets the picture. Even so, when he does take notice and attempt to woo her back, she makes all attempts to discover the nature and location of his “groin wound” before she is ready to commit.
So much comic and character development, but it’s buried in hundreds of pages of drivel. I can’t imagine anyone I know finishing this book. Sterne got an audience on the hook, got famous as a wit, and milked this project for something like 7-8 years. In the end, it is disjointed far beyond comic effect. Like The Emperor’s New Clothes, making a joke of avoiding the point wears thin a long time before page 575.
The sheer agony of an 18th Century twit smelling his own farts and giggling about them for 800 interminable pages. No better example of a book that people "like" because forcing themselves to be interested in one joke in 10,000 permutations makes them feel smart. It doesn't take any great brain to understand it, though--just endurance. Tristram Shandy is a boring bloody exercise and not a novel.
Each time I read this novel (and yes, I have slogged through it more than once) I am struck by the brilliance of Sterne. Many have recognized his writing as far before its time and indeed a great deal of the novel focuses on the purpose of language and literature and Sterne uses black pages, marbled pages, and squiggly lines to show how words sometimes cannot explain what you need to explain.
Additionally, the novel is Tristram's attempt to tell his life story while still living his life, a fact that becomes obvious through his digressions and the way his characters get out of his control. There's philosophy and history, filtered through Tristram and Walter and constant metaphors between life and warfare, courtesy of Uncle Toby. The comedy is often bawdy, Tristram's manhood and legitimacy are frequently questioned (often unbeknownst to him) and there's never an end in sight.
It is not an easy read and not beach material by any means but I highly recommend giving it a try, but I'd get a version with footnotes.
And if you enjoy the novel, definately check out the film version, directed by Michael Winterbottom, which serves as a great example of adaptation that works not from a literal adherence to the source material but as another work that revels in the same spirit as the original.
Additionally, the novel is Tristram's attempt to tell his life story while still living his life, a fact that becomes obvious through his digressions and the way his characters get out of his control. There's philosophy and history, filtered through Tristram and Walter and constant metaphors between life and warfare, courtesy of Uncle Toby. The comedy is often bawdy, Tristram's manhood and legitimacy are frequently questioned (often unbeknownst to him) and there's never an end in sight.
It is not an easy read and not beach material by any means but I highly recommend giving it a try, but I'd get a version with footnotes.
And if you enjoy the novel, definately check out the film version, directed by Michael Winterbottom, which serves as a great example of adaptation that works not from a literal adherence to the source material but as another work that revels in the same spirit as the original.
I absolutely hated this novel. If I had not been reading it for class, I would not have continued past the first twenty or so pages. I understand from the criticism I have read and discussed in class that the whole point is that there is no point, but to me, that seems indulgent and arrogant rather than groundbreaking. Sterne lashes out at critics within the novel itself because he knows he will find success regardless of their negative reviews. Why? White male privilege. I realize this argument is nearly impossible to defend, but I don't think we would still be reading Tristram Shandy if a woman or someone of color had authored it. That is the ultimate joke I suggest the novel makes. Sterne's popularity suggests how foolish academics are in the studies they pursue. He can write as ridiculously as he pleases, and he will still receive recognition.
Frankly, I wanted to burn my copy alongside Susannah as she burned Dr. Slop's wig.
Frankly, I wanted to burn my copy alongside Susannah as she burned Dr. Slop's wig.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Este realmente é um romance inovador!
A narrativa cheia de digressões pode ser um pouco confusa no início, mas ao decorrer da leitura me conquistou, foi um livro extremamente divertido de se ler.
O enredo aparentemente gira em torno da vida de Tristram Shandy, mas a narrativa frequentemente desvia para as vidas de sua família e amigos excêntricos, reflexões filosóficas e anedotas humorísticas. Tio Toby é um personagem incrível, acho que o meu favorito.
Esta foi uma experiência deliciosamente desconcertante. Acredito que serve como um lembrete do valor da inovação, humor e autorreflexão na literatura e na vida, desafiaando as normas convencionais e inspirando um senso de curiosidade.
A narrativa cheia de digressões pode ser um pouco confusa no início, mas ao decorrer da leitura me conquistou, foi um livro extremamente divertido de se ler.
O enredo aparentemente gira em torno da vida de Tristram Shandy, mas a narrativa frequentemente desvia para as vidas de sua família e amigos excêntricos, reflexões filosóficas e anedotas humorísticas. Tio Toby é um personagem incrível, acho que o meu favorito.
Esta foi uma experiência deliciosamente desconcertante. Acredito que serve como um lembrete do valor da inovação, humor e autorreflexão na literatura e na vida, desafiaando as normas convencionais e inspirando um senso de curiosidade.
funny
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes