Tom Jones!

[norumbegan]

I just finished reading Tom Jones, by Henry Fielding. It's a raucous & bawdy story, written in the 18th century, about the adopted bastard son of a country gentleman in England. The story itself is hilarious, but even better than the story is the author's continuous commentary in each prologue, which is also liberally sprinkled throughout the chapters themselves. He's actually quite full of himself, and often addresses future readers, assuming that his text will outlive him. He also hates critics with some passion, and takes every opportunity to insult them and their profession.

You can find the text online here if you want to start reading right away :)