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)

Finding a "proper" way to review Tristram Shandy is a bit of a paradox, considering the book itself is a masterpiece of being Improper. Laurence Sterne’s 18th-century classic isn't just a novel; it’s a high-wire act of digression, humor, and meta-commentary that feels more modern than most books written today.

Representing the "motley emblem" of his work. Missing Chapters: Which he later "inserts" out of order.

A man who believes a child’s entire future depends on the length of their nose and the name they are given.

The humor is bawdy, intellectual, and deeply human. Sterne mocks the Enlightenment’s obsession with logic by showing just how irrational human beings actually are. 4. Why It Still Matters

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