Tristram Shandy Audiobook (Unabridged)

" this book is interesting, in that it's written in, what i consider to be, a tedious style BUT it's funny. it's really, really funny. it's even got penis jokes in it. no i'm not twelve, but that doesn't mean i can't appreciate a good penis joke... "

" Great book. Walloping story in a stream of consciousness narrative. "

" Another novel I did not think would make me laugh, I was pleasantly surprised. "

" Tristram Shandy is definitely a worthwhile read. I'd be lying if I said I loved it or that it's my favorite book ever, but I definitely enjoyed and appreciated it. I love 18th-century cultural history, although I have truthfully read very little fiction out of that era (The Vicar of Wakefield is my favorite 18th-century novel), and I was eager to read Tristram Shandy, since I knew it was a wildly popular novel for many, many years after it was published. It is not the easiest novel to digest, having a non-chronological narrative and imbued as it is with such a myriad of underlying ideas. I'm sure there are many political and cultural references within it that I completely missed. But I got enough of them to be able to appreciate the rich satire and the delicious language of the era. And when I finished the book, I truly felt like I'd accomplished something and broadened my horizons. To read this book is to suddenly have a world of cultural references make sense (I now understand all about Uncle Toby and hobby horses!). The book is almost too rich, though. I almost feel overwhelmed by all that is crammed into it. But I am glad I read it. It is undeniably worthwhile, and though it does not earn a place on my sacred favorites bookshelf, it will yet remain a treasured addition to my permanent collection. "

" Brilliant and filthy-minded - obviously a novel for the ages. "

" I would say something like "shockingly ahead of its time", were it not for the fact that ostensibly post-modern techniques seem, recently, to turn up practically everywhere I look. Nevertheless, this is an appealingly zany romp, and would quite likely have merited a higher rating were it not for the opacity of some of the references, which very often necessitated a consultation of the footnotes my (somewhat antiquated) edition proffered. Fun, but slow going. "

" I have never laughed so much. "

" I really love this book thus far. "

" As rewarding to finish as it is tough to read, and as scatterbrained as anything ever published. Full of wit, double entendre, satire, allusions to filth, and great advice. "

" Woot! Finally finished! What just happened...? "

" Read it. You will laugh your socks off. "

" Post-modern metafiction from the 18th century. "

" You almost feel that you are looking at the world through the eyes of a drunken, a very merry drunk, but a drunk all the same. This novel, Don Quixote, and John Barth's The Sot-Weed factor rank among my all-time favourites. "

" A work of genius by a a writer of genius who became a friend. "

" So very very long, and lacking a truly cohesive plotline. I didn't get along with it at all, for all that its a great classic novel. "

" all right, I haven't finished it, but even three chapters of this book contain more laughs than some authors' entire bibliographies. "

" Funny, but it just taxed me too much to try to figure out the 18th century humor and references. "

" There are some very interesting characters, but I found it nearly impossible to read. I guess I'm not smart enough to "get it". "

" Another book that doesn't hold up to my speed-reading ways. My fault, not Sterne's. Someday I will find the discipline and finish it. "

" Not all the comedy carries, but is insanely inventive. A good book for persons who liked Joyce's Ulysses. The chapter in which Sterne apologizes for the narrative arc thus far with accompanying illustration is a classic. "

" I love this book, but I have never been able to read it more than once all the way through. Now and again, I return to bits though. And I will never ever forget it. "

" like Ulysses, where you have to drag yourself through an almost unfollowable plot-- unlike Ulysses, you close the book with a vague feeling of disappointed astonishment. "

" Total all-time top5 material for me. Wonderful language, endlessly inventive about what a book can be. Also: FUNNY. This helps. "

" Probably among the funniest books ever written. "

" If only literature had followed his queue and gone non-linear and non-conformist, what then would we be reading now? "

" Thank goodness that's over. Very uneven quality throughout, and most of what passes for humor in the book hasn't aged well. I guess I'm glad I read it, if only to be able to say I have. "

" The narrative style is unique and some of the jokes are really quite funny, but over all it's meandering chronology is not really my thing. "

" Cleverness is not a recent phenomenon apparently. Irreverent fun from a reverent time, engaging. "