The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman

In many ways and for various reasons, Tristram Shandy is one of the great books of prose fiction. In its humor, universality, and insight into humanity, it reminds one of Petronius, Rabelais, Cervantes, Swift, and Joyce. In its concern with motives and with the psychology of the individual, in the writer's approach to the problems of novel writing, it makes great sense to the modern reader.