The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman vs The way of all flesh: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: Parent and child, Young men, British and irish fiction, England, Social life and customs, Classic Literature
The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman
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Laurence Sterne's great masterpiece of bawdy humour and rich satire defies any attempt to categorize it. Part novel, part digression, its gloriously disordered narrative interweaves the birth and life of the unfortunate…
The way of all flesh
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I am the enfant terrible of literature and science. If I cannot, and I know I cannot, get the literary and scientific big-wigs to give me a shilling, I can, and I know I can, heave bricks into the middle of them.' With…
Side by side
The verdict
- Ratings are close across the board — any is a safe pick by score.
- The way of all flesh has the widest readership — 9835 ratings behind its score.
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How to choose
Scores by source
| The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman | The way of all flesh | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | 3.5 (33) | 3.6 (9835) |
| Hardcover | — | 3.7 (7) |
| Apple Books | 3.5 (16) | 4.0 (35) |
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Reception
| The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman | The way of all flesh | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 33 | 9835 |
| Editions | 85 | 132 |
| Citations | 185 | — |
| Film adaptations | 1 | 1 |
| Want to read | 130 | 16932 |
| Reading it now | 8 | 699 |
| Written reviews | 5 | 689 |
| Wikipedia attention | 12910 | 2679 |
| Pages | 461 | 561 |
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Questions readers ask
Which is rated higher: The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman or The way of all flesh?
The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman has the higher combined reader rating across sources (The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman 3.7/5, The way of all flesh 3.6/5).
Which is shorter to read: The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman or The way of all flesh?
The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman is the quickest read. Estimated at 225 words per minute: The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman (461 pages, ≈ 8 h 32 m); The way of all flesh (561 pages, ≈ 10 h 23 m).
Which is harder to read: The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman or The way of all flesh?
Estimated difficulty, based on era, reader shelves and length — The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman: Demanding; The way of all flesh: Moderate.
Have both books been made into films?
The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman: 1 film adaptation; The way of all flesh: no film adaptation on record.