33 - A Book With an Unreliable Narrator

[Nadine in NY]

Jai wrote: "What is the exact criteria for an unreliable narrator? I feel like a few on the list are pretty bias like Monday's Not Coming and The Maid. One book feature's a Blac..."

I don't think there is a set definition and it's up to the reader. I certainly hope people are not adding books just because a character is Black, for example.

I don't know anything about Monday's Not Coming, I haven't read that, when I saw it on the list, I just assumed the author specializes in "unreliable narrator" type stories, because Allegedly was most definitely an unreliable narrator, (view spoiler)[she was deliberately lying and misrepresenting herself (and her mother) until the big twist at the end. (hide spoiler)] Perhaps someone else made that assumption too, and added it in error.

I can see why The Maid would be listed - Molly does not always correctly interpret other people's actions, and so her version of events can be a bit skewed sometimes. Prose writes it so that the reader can usually tell Molly has just missed a social cue. But I think it's fair to say that Molly can be an unreliable narrator. It doesn't mean she's not smart, or she's lying - she just misinterprets things sometimes.

My favorite kind of unreliable narrator is a sociopath who is deliberately misleading you, like The Good Son or The Talented Mr. Ripley.

For this category, I used Listen for the Lie, a book with a character who had amnesia, so she could not remember events from a night when her friend was murdered. Technically she's not unreliable, since she's upfront about it and telling the truth: "I do not remember." It's a gray area. And I wanted to check off a challenge category with that book, so I made it fit.

[Kathryn]

I read Elinor Oliphant is completely fine . I’m starting to see a theme in most of the Reece picks. She chooses a lot of compelling narrative style writing with less action throughout but big twists by the end

[Paula]

What Happened to Nina
The Heiress

[Terryls]

Excellent start to a mystery series: Malice by Keigo Higashino Malice

[Denise]

Paula wrote: "What Happened to Nina
The Heiress"

Hi Paula, I ended up reading What Happened to Nina? - and it was surprisingly good! - but I don't think this counts as an unreliable narrator. I ended up putting it in the "book recommended by a bookseller" slot since I use that as a sort of free slot.

It could count as A book that came out in a year that ends with "24", A book from a genre you typically avoid (if you avoid crime/mystery/suspense), A book with a title that is a complete sentence, and A book with at least 3 POVs.

[Thomas]

Regarding what is unreliable is a very subjective term. Some even argue all first person books are unreliable because everyone has a perspective. Some books are obviously unreliable as the narrator proves to be lying or delusional however knowing this in advance would be a spoiler. An interesting I’ve heard is Wuthering Heights because the narrator is sometimes forced to admit she doesn’t have all of the details

[Laura Ruth]

I went with The Blessed by Remy Apepp, a very dark but poetically told fantasy. Trigger warnings: (view spoiler)[ violence, terminal illness, euthanasia (hide spoiler)]

http://www.lauraruthloomis.com/whats-...

[Jessica]

I read Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane

[Michele]

None of This Is True by Lisa Jewell

[Megan]

The Wife Between Us *kinda* counts.