If you expect a standard biography, prepare to be trolled. Tristram, our narrator, attempts to tell his life story but is so distracted by context—his father’s eccentric theories, his Uncle Toby’s obsession with military fortifications, and the very physics of how he was conceived—that he doesn't even manage to get himself born until several volumes into the book. 2. Sterne’s Narrative Anarchy

The heart of the book lies in the "hobby-horses"—the obsessive fixations—of the Shandy household.

A 600-page "shaggy dog" story that manages to be about everything and nothing at the same time. It is exhausting, hilarious, and arguably the most influential "experimental" novel ever written. 1. The "Plot" (Or Lack Thereof)

Mimicking the frantic, stuttering pace of real thought. 3. The Comedy of Frustration