The digressions of Tristram Shandy are of two distinct types: the first takes the reader from the immediate part of the story to antecedent or subsequent events that supposedly clarify or amplify the story; the second takes the reader from the immediate story to the private views of the author, either on that story or on completely diverse subjects. But all of these digressions finally have unity in the creative consciousness of Tristram. No matter how digressive he may get, his constant effort — he tells us regularly — is aimed at the harmonizing of these digressions with the "main work"; and no matter how vague the connection is between "digression" and "story," he always finally brings the two together.
In the meantime, how do you organize opinions? Unlike straight-line adventures, they resist coming to attention and forming orderly ranks. Further, how many opinions can fit into the book? As someone once said, "the fragments of the narrative have the appearance of interruptions to digressions." But this is Tristram's book, and that's the form he gave to it. We finally understand all about Tristram Shandy not only or primarily from the events of his life — his "story" — but from the book whose very structure reflects his mind and his character. Tristram says near the end of the book, "All I wish is, that it may be a lesson to the world, 'to let people tell their stories in their own way.'" The best thing of all in reading his book is to take his advice.
