Gargantua and Pantagruel
Rabelais smashed every rule of taste, decorum, and narrative structure and created something that is simultaneously vulgar, learned, and wildly inventive.
“I drink for the thirst to come.”
Why It Matters
Rabelais smashed every rule of taste, decorum, and narrative structure and created something that is simultaneously vulgar, learned, and wildly inventive. The giants Gargantua and Pantagruel gave French literature its most anarchic masterpiece and proved that comedy could be as serious as tragedy. Rabelais's influence runs through Swift, Sterne, Joyce, and Pynchon.
The 
Take
Personal reviewHilarious mix of high minded and low brow. Tons of hilarious parts and some solid satire. It falls off books 4 and 5 but the thoroughly enjoyed the first 3, especially gargantua. Wouldn’t expect a book like this to exist from 1500s
Notable Quotes
“Science without conscience is but the ruin of the soul.”
“Do what you will.”