Unreliable Narrators (Spoiler Alert!)
An Issue of Trust
Iāll admit, novels with an unreliable narrator are not everyoneās cup of tea, but I love them. You start off thinking the character is taking us on a believable journey and that we can trust their telling of the events, then unease creeps in. We start asking questions. We wonder where the character is leading us. Finally, thereās a revelation, hopefully a good one, which acts as a pay-off for the breaking of our trust. The trick is to execute this well. Easy, right?
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Some Examples
The Girl on the Train ā an issue of unreliable memory stemming from the confusion of alcoholism
Atonement ā the narrator tells us the ending she wishes had happened
Life of Pi ā the true nature of the animals is horrifyingly revealed
Experience
Iāve written two books with unreliable narrators. When I started the first one, I had no idea that my character wasnāt completely trustworthy in her retelling of events, right up until I got to the revelation. I was worried the reader wouldnāt go along with the narrator, that theyād think āyeah, rightā and immediately stop reading, but Iāve had good reviews for this book and I think that itās because the story happened organically.
The second book was much more deliberately plotted ā and much more complex, with three points of view and several revelations throughout. Iām waiting for feedback as to whether Iāve achieved this successfully as we speak.
I heard an interview where an author mentioned that the reader should say, āOh! Of course thatās what was happening!ā after the big reveal, rather than, āWhere the hell did that come from?ā The key, apparently, is to plant subtle breadcrumbs through the story, so that they think back and see the hints, double-meanings and small snippets which all point to the outcome.
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Final Thoughts
Do you enjoy books with unreliable narrators? Why/why not?
Which books do this well?
How do the authors achieve this successfully, without the revelation of the truth seeming to come āout of nowhereā? Feel free to give spoilers as Iāve already warned of this at the start of the blog!
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