If on a Winter's Night, a Traveller

Abstract

I love to read a straightforward story which draws me in from the beginning, makes me feel involved with all the characters, and promises me a long and enjoyable journey in congenial company until the book reaches its inevitable and satisfactory conclusion. They get married and they live happily ever after. But I also love books which are unruly and more than a bit unreliable; books whose authors tease you and have conversations with you and can't resist telling you: T h is story isn't really happening, you know; it's just something I've invented and I can change it any time I want to.' This may sound infuriating and indeed it often is - but if it's written by someone who is really gifted and full of charm you can forgive him all sorts of outrageous tricks because you want to see what he's going to do next. Does this remind you of anybody? If you have read Tristram Shandy (see Chapter 10) you might come to the conclusion that the tradition of the writer playing games with the reader began in the eighteenth century with Laurence Sterne.

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