The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman

by Laurence Sterne

First published 1759

Tristram Shandy sits down to write the story of his life, but he cannot stick to the point. He begins before his birth, detailing the peculiar circumstances of his conception. His father Walter obsesses over names and noses and elaborate theories about human nature. His Uncle Toby, wounded in war, builds model fortifications in the garden and relives military campaigns with his devoted servant Corporal Trim. The household includes Dr. Slop, the bumbling physician, and Parson Yorick, who rides his horse too fast for the neighbors' comfort. Tristram keeps interrupting himself with anecdotes, philosophical musings, and complaints about the difficulty of storytelling. He draws diagrams, leaves blank pages, and argues with his readers. The more he tries to catch up to the present moment of his writing, the further behind he falls. What emerges is not a conventional life story but a joyful mess of digressions that reveals the impossibility of capturing experience in words while celebrating the attempt itself.

Genres: fiction, classic-literature, literary-fiction, historical-fiction, 20th-century, academic

Vibes: lyrical, thought-provoking, whimsical

Tropes: unreliable-narrator

Period: 18th-Century

735 pages · Paperback · Penguin Classics

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