Laurence Sterne

Laurence Sterne was an Anglo-Irish novelist and an Anglican clergyman. In addition to the novels for which he was rightly famous, Sterne published many sermons, wrote memoirs, and was involved in local politics. Sterne died in London after years of fighting tuberculosis.

The full title of Laurence Sterne’s major work is The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman. It was published in nine volumes, the first two appearing in 1759, and seven others following over the next seven years (vols. 3 and 4, 1761; vols. 5 and 6, 1762; vols. 7 and 8, 1765; vol. 9, 1767).

Tristram Shandy is perhaps the most idiosyncratic work in the Western canon. Sterne’s work defies all generic distinctions and seems to purposefully frustrate the reader’s expectations for a storyline or for an overall point or moral. The novel seems to have no plot in the conventional sense of the term. It proceeds, rather, as a random sticking together of events and stories that bear in one way or another on Tristram's unhappy life. Amid the chaos of the narrative form and the endless digression, Sterne’s ultimate message seems to be one of humility and patience

Ultimately, however, the design of the novel, or lack thereof, means that the reader is left helplessly adrift in the seemingly meaningless shifts of events. I have therefore demoted this novel from its original standing in the list of 101 Greatest Books of the Western Canon. The work does provoke a thoughtful reflection on ultimate questions, however. Thus, it retains its place, of course, on my list of 1001 Great Books of the Western Canon.

Reflections on the Great Books