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THEY order, said I, this matter better in France--You have been in France? said my gentleman, turning quick upon me with the most civil triumph in the world. Read the first page
Concordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
This is by no means an easy read. The 18th-century prose is difficult; the book is larded with Frenchisms and Biblical or classical allusions; the complex, slow narrative often requires re-reading. But the rewards are great! It's wise, deeply comical, and incredibly perceptive.
There are several helpful reviews below dealing with the aspect of "sentimentality", and so I will just single out two things which appealed to me:
1. STERNE AND BODY LANGUAGE. Sterne shows an almost 20th-century appreciation of body language. In fact, I believe he may have almost discovered it. His chapter, "The Translation", highlights the importance of being able to interpret subtle physical hints, like a language: "There is not a secret so aiding to the progress of sociality, as to get master of this _shorthand_, and be quick in rendering the several turns of looks and limbs, with all their inflections and delineations, into plain words." How visionary!
2. STERNE AND THE FRENCH. Ever since Shakespeare inserted a scene in "cod French" into "Henry V", actually ever since the Norman Conquest and up to Monty Python and beyond, the English have revelled in mocking the French and their language. His Continental travelling gives Sterne the perfect excuse to do this. At one point he differentiates between "tant pis" (= "never mind" - where there is nothing to be gained) and "tant mieux" (= so much the better - where there IS an advantage). He also has a hilarious section on the grades of French swearing: first "Diable!", then "Peste!" and finally the words that he won't repeat. In all cases, Sterne carefully shows the social niceties of these expressions.
The protagonist, Yorick, has various adventures of lust and feeling with women and other typically travelish things like losing his passport that we can all relate to. He's tender, obscene, learned, funny, companionable, and above all, readable - if tough.
Seriously though, this book is well worth reading for a number of other reasons. It's seemingly quirky set of brief "episodes" recounting the experiences of a traveller in Europe are on one level deep and telling signs of Sterne's fascination with the trivial (which in one sense all our lives are.) On another, it's just a very enlightening insight into the times it is a product.
One important point: don't be mislead/put off by the title. It's not really all weepy, over-inflated and sentimental twaddle; instead it is a novel that reads more like a pre-echo of Joyce and other modernists.
For the price, its length and the chance to read something a bit off the beaten track of literature you could do much worse then this little gem.
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