The Unreliable Narrator

elemenoP · 04-16-2012, 09:23 PM

The first person POV thread reminded me of this. I love books with an unreliable narrator. My favorites are Lolita ("always trust a murderer for a fancy prose style"), Remains of the Day and several others by Ishiguro. Another one I enjoyed is a little-known book called The Debt to Pleasure by John Lanchester, which owes an obvious debt to Lolita.

Who is your favorite unreliable narrator?

eP

Synamon · 04-16-2012, 10:36 PM

Life of Pi.

AndrewH · 04-16-2012, 11:22 PM

Life of Pi, definitely!

I didn't care for it, but Gene Wolfe's The Book of the New Sun series, starting with Shadow of the Torturer, is quite popular.

crich70 · 04-16-2012, 11:25 PM

One that comes to mind is

Spoiler:

by Agatha Christie.

GeckoFriend · 04-16-2012, 11:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by crich70

One that comes to mind is

Spoiler:

by Agatha Christie.

Good one

Bookpossum · 04-17-2012, 03:56 AM

"The Little Stranger" by Sarah Waters. It's unsettling and brilliant.

Doitsu · 04-17-2012, 05:58 AM

The first story (and several other stories) in The Extraordinary Adventures of Arsene Lupin, Gentleman-Burglar is a good example of this technique.

elemenoP · 04-17-2012, 07:56 AM

Life of Pi is one of my favorite books ever! And the others I haven't read, so thanks!!

eP

bill_mchale · 04-17-2012, 12:32 PM

I think an argument could be made that most first person POV novels can be seen as having an unreliable narrator to some extent or another. What gets even more interesting is when you have a third person POV unreliable narrator....

--
Bill

JSWolf · 04-17-2012, 03:39 PM

One problem with first person narration is that it spoils any spoils any sort of cliff-hangers involving the narrator as you know the narrator has to survive otherwise, the narration would not be happening.

Synamon · 04-17-2012, 03:53 PM

I was reminded of this list of the Top 10 unreliable narrators. I've enjoyed many of these, not knowing how much to trust the narrator gives the story an edge and I'm drawn to that. Incomplete information is how we operate day-to-day, so it adds realism to a novel.

elemenoP · 04-17-2012, 05:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSWolf

One problem with first person narration is that it spoils any spoils any sort of cliff-hangers involving the narrator as you know the narrator has to survive otherwise, the narration would not be happening.

Except in the case of The Lovely Bones, where the narrator is already dead at the start!

eP

elemenoP · 04-17-2012, 05:25 PM

Bill: can you give an example of an unreliable narrator/third person POV? I'm intrigued!

Dazrin · 04-17-2012, 06:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSWolf

One problem with first person narration is that it spoils any spoils any sort of cliff-hangers involving the narrator as you know the narrator has to survive otherwise, the narration would not be happening.

Or it could be like the movie Fallen where you think you know who the narrator is throughout the movie and then find out at the end that it wasn't who you thought (or at least not who you were supposed to think), and that changes the meaning of most of the narrator's dialogue.

bill_mchale · 04-18-2012, 01:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by elemenoP

Bill: can you give an example of an unreliable narrator/third person POV? I'm intrigued!

Well a recent one I just finished was "The January Dancer" by Michael Flynn. though it really is a hybrid of first and third person narrative. (and a mix of two different third person narrators). Most of the story is told in the third person, but from the perspective of one a character who is relating the story to another character in the framing narrative.

But that being said, I think any limited third person perspective can be made an unreliable narrator.

Of course, the key is that people tend to look at third person narratives as being reliable... so they rarely notice them.

--
Bill

04-16-2012, 09:23 PM	#1
elemenoP Wizard Posts: 1,717 Karma: 3790058 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: NYC Device: Kindle Paperwhite, Sony 650	The Unreliable Narrator The first person POV thread reminded me of this. I love books with an unreliable narrator. My favorites are Lolita ("always trust a murderer for a fancy prose style"), Remains of the Day and several others by Ishiguro. Another one I enjoyed is a little-known book called The Debt to Pleasure by John Lanchester, which owes an obvious debt to Lolita. Who is your favorite unreliable narrator? eP

04-16-2012, 11:25 PM	#4
crich70 Grand Sorcerer Posts: 11,310 Karma: 43993832 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Monroe Wisconsin Device: K3, Kindle Paperwhite, Calibre, and Mobipocket for Pc (netbook)	One that comes to mind is Spoiler: The Murder of Roger Achroyd by Agatha Christie.

04-17-2012, 05:58 AM	#7
Doitsu Grand Sorcerer Posts: 5,763 Karma: 24088559 Join Date: Dec 2010 Device: Kindle PW2	Mauriece Leblanc's Arsène Lupin The first story (and several other stories) in The Extraordinary Adventures of Arsene Lupin, Gentleman-Burglar is a good example of this technique.

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04-16-2012, 10:36 PM	#2
Synamon Lunatic Posts: 1,691 Karma: 4386372 Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Land of the Loonie Device: Kindle Paperwhite and Keyboard, Kobo Aura, iPad mini, iPod Touch	Life of Pi.

04-16-2012, 11:22 PM	#3
AndrewH Fanatic Posts: 553 Karma: 1234566 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Vancouver, WA Device: Sony PRS-T1, & Kobo Mini	Life of Pi, definitely! I didn't care for it, but Gene Wolfe's The Book of the New Sun series, starting with Shadow of the Torturer, is quite popular.

04-17-2012, 03:56 AM	#6
Bookpossum Snoozing in the sun Posts: 10,146 Karma: 115423645 Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Melbourne, Australia Device: iPad Mini, Kobo Touch	"The Little Stranger" by Sarah Waters. It's unsettling and brilliant.

04-17-2012, 07:56 AM	#8
elemenoP Wizard Posts: 1,717 Karma: 3790058 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: NYC Device: Kindle Paperwhite, Sony 650	Life of Pi is one of my favorite books ever! And the others I haven't read, so thanks!! eP

04-17-2012, 12:32 PM	#9
bill_mchale Wizard Posts: 1,451 Karma: 1550000 Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Maryland, USA Device: Nook Simple Touch, HPC Evo 4G LTE	I think an argument could be made that most first person POV novels can be seen as having an unreliable narrator to some extent or another. What gets even more interesting is when you have a third person POV unreliable narrator.... -- Bill

04-17-2012, 03:39 PM	#10
JSWolf Resident Curmudgeon Posts: 80,746 Karma: 150249619 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3	One problem with first person narration is that it spoils any spoils any sort of cliff-hangers involving the narrator as you know the narrator has to survive otherwise, the narration would not be happening.

04-17-2012, 03:53 PM	#11
Synamon Lunatic Posts: 1,691 Karma: 4386372 Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Land of the Loonie Device: Kindle Paperwhite and Keyboard, Kobo Aura, iPad mini, iPod Touch	I was reminded of this list of the Top 10 unreliable narrators. I've enjoyed many of these, not knowing how much to trust the narrator gives the story an edge and I'm drawn to that. Incomplete information is how we operate day-to-day, so it adds realism to a novel.

04-17-2012, 05:25 PM	#13
elemenoP Wizard Posts: 1,717 Karma: 3790058 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: NYC Device: Kindle Paperwhite, Sony 650	Bill: can you give an example of an unreliable narrator/third person POV? I'm intrigued!