The book turns out to be a parody of concepts such as coherence and rigid ordering that were so prevalent in the novels of the author's time. It consists mostly of anecdotes and personality sketches of the narrator's familly and the Parson Yorrick who is thought to be modelled on Sterne himself.

Sterne was influenced by the satirist Swift, but this book was loosely based on John Locke's theory of the association of ideas. Much of its comedy comes from the special associations that define each character. The obsessions of characters are played upon and they seem to have difficulty comminicating which creates comic confusions.