The author's own ideas and
interpretations are presumably just as singular, and so the novel remains
above all a catalogue of the "opinions" of Tristram Shandy.

Much of the subtlety of the novel comes from the layering of
authorial voice that Sterne achieves by making his protagonist the author of
his own life story, and then presenting that story as the novel itself. The
fictional author's consciousness is the filter through which everything in the
book passes. Yet Sterne sometimes invites the reader to question the
opinions and assumptions that Tristram expresses, reminding us that Shandy
is not a simple substitute for Sterne. One of the effects of this technique is to
draw the reader into an unusually active and participatory role. Tristram
counts on his audience to indulge his idiosyncrasies and verify his opinions;
Sterne asks the reader to approach the unfolding narrative with a more
discriminating and critical judgment.