Reviews

The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman by Laurence Sterne

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larrytheladybug's review against another edition

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funny slow-paced

4.5

caoimhe12's review against another edition

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Extremely tedious and tiresome

jjjjuliafreitas's review against another edition

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4.0

Read book 1 for uni. (English studies, Year 2)

tsenteme's review against another edition

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5.0

Πολύ ιδιαίτερο-πρωτότυπο βιβλίο.

Θα μπορούσε να ανήκει στην εξής φανταστική τριλογία:
- Γαργαντούας και Πανταγκρυέλ
- Τρίστραμ Σάντι
- Οδυσσέας

Χωρίς να έχει κάτι αξιοσημείωτο στην πλοκή του, παρόλα αυτά είναι διασκεδαστικό και με συχνές δόσεις φιλοσοφίας.

finlaaaay's review against another edition

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2.0

I really quite like the idea of a post-modern book written in the pre-modern era, and I know that Tristram Shandy is an interesting concept from the Steve Coogan movie. It's just... why does it have to be so... rambly? and full of self-congratulatory references to contemporary literature?

I'm afraid I couldn't look past the form of it all. Dashes everywhere. More than Emily Dickinson. I soon worked out that Sterne had used dashes to indicate the rhythm of speech and (too many) commas for a purely grammatical function, but that meant that I had to start sounding the thing out in my head for it to make sense to me. Was this normal back then, or something? The copy of the book I had also had a notes section at the back to explain all Sterne's hyperspecific references to wars I hadn't heard of and vocabulary that has utterly fallen into disuse. It was very useful for me, but a pain to have to keep flipping back and forth - and it made me feel like I was in school again.

I think it might have worked better for me as an audiobook. In that format I just let things wash if they don't make full sense.

rosekk's review against another edition

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1.0

I have tried to read this book several times, and I have finally given in. It is extremely rare for me to encounter a book I can't finish, but this book as proved to be one of the rare unreadable books for me. It's a shame, because I really wanted to like it (hence the multiple attempts at reading it). I like the idea of it, and the descriptions people give of it sound like it should be enjoyable. The actual book, though, is unbearable. I am quite comfortable with old fashioned narration and language - it's not that that I find of-putting (actually, given when it was written, it's language really isn't very difficult to work with). It's the constant empty rambling, lack of plot (or even, for the most part, events), and bizarre chapter division that has defeated me. The attempts to furnish all the characters with descriptive background is admirable, but it's carried out in such a way as to make remembering what's been said about each thing is impossible, because the novel dives down so many diversions it's impossible to keep up. I understand that the diversions are part of the point of the book, and the distractions the narrator allows are all part of how the novels meant to work. The trouble is, for me, it just doesn't work. The way the book tries to make it's point sabotages it's readability, which for me is a mark of the worst kind of literature. Any book where I suspect the basic production of the work has been sacrificed for some deeper meaning puts me of. If something's worth saying, say it well.