The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman Vol. 1
Laurence Sterne
Read by LibriVox Volunteers
The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman (or, more briefly, Tristram Shandy) is a novel by Laurence Sterne. It was published in nine volumes, the first two appearing in 1759, and seven others following over the next 10 years. It was not always held in high esteem by other writers (Samuel Johnson responded that, "Nothing odd can last"), but its bawdy humour was popular with London society, and it has come to be seen as one of the greatest comic novels in English, as well as a forerunner for many modern narrative devices. (Summary from Wikipedia) (5 hr 55 min)
Chapters
Chapter 01-03 | 8:17 | Read by Gesine |
Chapter 04-05 | 7:29 | Read by Julie VW |
Chapter 06-07 | 6:35 | Read by Julie VW |
Chapter 08-09 | 7:47 | Read by Keri Ford |
Chapter 10 | 13:58 | Read by Julie VW |
Chapter 11 | 9:47 | Read by Mark F. Smith |
Chapter 12 | 11:38 | Read by Julie VW |
Chapter 13-14 | 7:05 | Read by Keri Ford |
Chapter 15 | 10:06 | Read by Julie VW |
Chapter 16-17 | 4:40 | Read by Varra Unreal |
Chapter 18 | 13:20 | Read by Julie VW |
Chapter 19 | 14:03 | Read by Julie VW |
Chapter 20 | 13:27 | Read by B. G. Oxford |
Chapter 21 | 18:41 | Read by Keri Ford |
Chapter 22-23 | 11:49 | Read by Keri Ford |
Chapter 24-25 | 5:27 | Read by Varra Unreal |
Chapter 26 | 6:08 | Read by Varra Unreal |
Chapter 27 | 11:52 | Read by valli |
Chapter 28-29 | 13:29 | Read by valli |
Chapter 30 | 17:28 | Read by valli |
Chapter 31-32 | 8:48 | Read by hefyd |
Chapter 33-34 | 8:18 | Read by hefyd |
Chapter 35-36 | 6:48 | Read by hefyd |
Chapter 37-38 | 12:38 | Read by hefyd |
Chapter 39-41 | 9:56 | Read by hefyd |
Chapter 42 part 1 | 28:30 | Read by hefyd |
Chapter 42 part 2 | 22:22 | Read by hefyd |
Chapter 43-44 | 24:08 | Read by hefyd |
Chapter 45-47 | 7:20 | Read by Kristine Bekere |
Chapter 48-50 | 7:09 | Read by Kristine Bekere |
Chapter 51-52 | 6:31 | Read by Gesine |
Reviews
some readers better than others but overall painful to listen to
Sol
Atrociously Poor Reading
A LibriVox Listener
The female reader's pronunciation and phrasing made the book almost impossible to listen to. I thought she was bad until I got to chapters 16 and 17. The reader of those chapters was atrocious. I could not understand a word they were saying. I was extremely disappointed and implore libravox to take down this version and re-record this book.
Inconsistent reading
Unknown
Aside from what the author considers humorous in the 18th century, the reading quality varies greatly- from Hefyd who sounds like the hero come to life and Julie VW with her lovely Irish accent to Verra Unreal who was almost uncomprehensible.
16 Chapter 24-25 needs to be recorded again
trippinglyonthetongue
Very good readings - the french pronunciation, in particular - with the exception of the reader of 16 Chapter 24-25 who speaks too quickly and with a strong lisp. Please re-record.
Hampered by poor reading
Grant
This is one of the classics of English wit, but some readers render it incomprehensible, especially 16-17 and 25. I had just finished The Idea of a University and was impressed by how the reader got such feeling into a philosophical text. Sadly, this was the opposite: a reading of a humorous text with little respect for the rhythm of the language, and with insufficient feeling and emphasis.
A LibriVox Listener
The female reader was terrible, I couldn't listen to her at all. She pronounced the words so badly I had to go and check the physical book in order to understand what she was trying to say. It's a shame such a great book has been ruined.
MP
I quit at Chapter 16-17. Maybe it is a kind of performance art to underscore the literary challenge of the text. It was too much for me and my simple mind.
SONAM CHHOMO
I was able to read the text alongside the audio in great speed. thanks for this free audio.