| Author |
Sterne, Laurence, 1713-1768 |
| Title |
The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman
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| Note |
Reading ease score: 54.1 (10th to 12th grade). Somewhat difficult to read.
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| Credits |
Sue Asscher, Stephen Radcliffe and David Widger
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| Summary |
"The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman" by Laurence Sterne is a novel written in the early 18th century. This unconventional work offers a humorous and often digressive narrative that revolves around the life and thoughts of the protagonist, Tristram Shandy, as he reflects on the events leading up to his birth and his experiences thereafter. The novel challenges traditional storytelling methods, intertwining philosophical musings with comedic anecdotes that detail Tristram's opinions and his family's eccentricities. At the start of the novel, Tristram reflects on the importance of his conception, expressing wishful thoughts about how better planning from his parents could have altered his life significantly. He critiques the interruptions caused by mundane concerns, such as the winding of a clock, which he humorously suggests disrupted the alignment of his "animal spirits" during conception. His father, a stickler for order, and mother, equally stubborn, engage in discussions that reveal their contrasting personalities. The opening chapters introduce the narrative's whimsical tone and set the stage for a broader exploration of identity, fate, and the absurdities of life as viewed through Tristram's unique perspective. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
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| Language |
English |
| LoC Class |
PR: Language and Literatures: English literature
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| Subject |
Stream of consciousness fiction
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| Subject |
Experimental fiction
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| Subject |
Fiction -- Authorship -- Fiction
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| Subject |
Infants -- Fiction
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| Subject |
Fetus -- Fiction
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| Category |
Text |
| EBook-No. |
1079 |
| Release Date |
Oct 1, 1997 |
| Most Recently Updated |
Oct 27, 2021 |
| Copyright Status |
Public domain in the USA. |
| Downloads |
3435 downloads in the last 30 days. |
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