Tristram Shandy

By: Laurence Sterne

Narrated by: Anton Lesser

Laurence Sterne’s most famous novel is a biting satire of literary conventions and contemporary 18th-century values. Renowned for its parody of established narrative techniques, Tristram Shandy is commonly regarded as the forerunner of avant-garde fiction. Tristram’s characteristic digressions on a whole range of unlikely subjects (including battle strategy and noses!) are endlessly surprising and make this one of Britain’s greatest comic achievements. A cast of strange characters populate this strangest of novels: gentle Uncle Toby, sarcastic Walter, and of course, the pompous, garrulous Tristram himself. This edition is read by Anton Lesser in a tour de force performance.

Please note: In print, Tristram Shandy is filled with visual, typographical, and compositing jokes - pages that are completely blank, pages that are completely black, misplaced chapters or chapters consisting only of their title, squiggly lines to indicate waving a stick, and much more besides. This audiobook tries in a variety of ways to match Sterne's invention with aural equivalents.

Download the accompanying reference guide.Public Domain (P)2009 Naxos Audiobooks

Glorious digressions

What a glorious ramble and rollicking good time. Tristram spends half of the book finally getting to the complications of his birth and name. Along the way, he gets diverted into stories of his Uncle Toby's war wound, Corporal Trim's brother, and the beliefs of his father, Doctor Slop and more. Another book that I wonder if the audiobook performance is what made the difference. Anton Lesser and the producers of this book made it come to life and put the humor in it.

wonderful!

I gave it a one on story because that is what the author would have wanted.

made it!

I've tried reading this book several times... but the added vitality of a good reader has finally made it possible! yay!! Even so, for those who *only* listen to this book, you're missing some amazing moments - Sterne was literally centuries ahead of his times--he plays with typography adding a blank page to describe a woman's beauty, a scrawl to imitate the movement of a walking stick... / this is the original satire on English life, and, in spite of its length, is quite worthwhile.

brilliant narration

Where does Tristram Shandy rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

There is no point in reviewing a literary classic like this. Most people who like language and who have some knowledge of 18th century English culture love this book.

Any additional comments?

The purpose of my review is to say that is a brilliant narration. Back in the Stone Age, I loved the now vanished narration of the late Wolfram Kandinsky, especially his reading of Conrad. I put Mr. Lesser's narration in that category, which is high praise indeed.

completely charmed

An astonishingly diverting book that is both silly and wise. Anton Lessor really shines in bringing Uncle Toby, Dr Slop and company to life, while the direction is equally deft.