Once it’s clear that the narrator is unreliable, the story value goes to 0. Anything could be true at that point, nothing is to be believed. Is it really the dream of a butterfly? A brain in a fluid-filled glass box? A paralyzed polio survivor in an iron lung? Last thought as bullet enters brain?
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I wont say the book im reading because it would be a spoiler but the more I read it the more Im wondering about the narrator. Like for real, "Hey Im only looking at this from your angle, you better not be in the wrong" lmao
Characters are allowed to lie when they speak; narrators should not, unless they do so in such a tentative way that the readers can tell there is something being left out.
Nope lol. I wrote a book that looks at a person's life from the perspective of about 25 different narrators, and most of them are unreliable in some way lol.
If you only knew what I tell my therapist as the reason.
"If it weren't for the unreliable reader, the narrator would be a saint, but I have to work with what I'm given."
It’s like eating the bread before the steak dinner— that’s how they get you! Btw, who is “they”? Don’t you get to take your leftover steak? I mean, you ordered it, you’re paying for it… I’m sorry, what were we talking about?
I'm going to write a masterpiece of a novel and end it with "All that shit was made up. Jerry actually fell down the stairs and bled out. This was a hallucination as his brain was starved of oxygen"
Yeah me too as long as it's not a completely dumb out of place twist and shock that doesn't make any sense because media is so disappointing these days and not surprising or smart.
Is any narrator truly reliable? How well do you really know them? Could you call a narrator up for a ride to the airport or to help you move? No? Doesn't seem all that reliable to me. ;)
Oh nooo not an accurate reflection of the human experience and being forced to appreciate other peoples perspectives on an attempt to help people with empathy
I've been "burned" by a few of those, and it's annoyed me to the point where i tend to have a bias towards believing all narrators are unreliable and i really miss a lot of earnest conversations lol
You know what the sad part is? This could be in reference to a work of fiction in which the narrator protagonist has schizophrenia, or historical propaganda (very vogue in Red States now).
Haha! I've always been curious about this & funnily enough came to wondering again just the other day (I've decided it was a nuclear winter following a war, btw). But can't imagine being so irritated by not being told! CM is a great writer, have a bunch of his books off the back of that & No Country
there are subtle ways to do it that make the book more interesting but it is true that an unreliable narrator that just plain lies is like a hat on a hat. It's already a made up story why lie about it?
It's a joke. "The unreliable narrator" is a type of fictional narration where the narrator does NOT know everything that is going on in the story, or may be a first-person narrator who is indeed lying. This comes out in the story as irony, usually.
Narrators are by nature unreliable. If I tell you a story, even a real-life one, it will be filtered through my experiences, prejudices, and intellect.
Years ago, someone recommended a book to me saying it was like another story with an unreliable narrator and it ruined the story because I could already tell how the story would go.
The “twist” is just a whole bunch of new information that wasn’t hinted at, set up, or foreshadowed. Just a big middle finger, like, haha, you’re dumb because you didn’t know any of the things we didn’t tell you!
it’s because i’m unreliable and fundamentally incapable of making a reliable narrator, in fact this whole
story is made up. it’s all lies. part 2 coming 2026
I once read a book where the narrator was so unreliable, I asked him to pick up my kids at the daycare and the bastard just went and had beers at the bar. Not nice
I want a narrator that's dependable. Not one that calls in sick every other page pretending to have a cold or stomach ache while stretching out their legs on a beach blanket.
Because it’s a bit more fun at the possibility that the real story is something the narrator is trying to hide from you for whatever reason than traditional narrators basically just telling you what they ate for breakfast & the size of the dump they took after the coffee kicked in.
Recently read an example of "It was at this moment I discovered some life altering information. But for the sake of drama, I'm not gonna reveal it until the next chapter."
To portray real life actually. You have to be on your guard against most folks, especially story-tellers, and especially story-tellers like Donald Trump, who is winning the "unreliable narrator" of the century award, telling the story of America as a set of lies.
We are doing it for you own good. Trusting loved ones leads to good sleep. Good sleep leads to cats sneaking up on you. Cats sneaking up on you leads to the 2nd cat sneaking up to them which leads to bloody human.
Comments
And, yes! Exactly that novel.
Nice choice!
I am Jack's raging bile duct
Don Like It?
Well I yam what I yam
Unreliable narrator. Wouldn’t recommend.
REGIME,
out
It’s all so very VERY corrupt
Chump is helping Putin and trying to destroy Zelensky
Deeply deeply disturbing
“My mother is a fish”
As I Lay Dying
Some more than others
Or just to screw with you.
One of those.
"If it weren't for the unreliable reader, the narrator would be a saint, but I have to work with what I'm given."
makes me want to tear the entire book apart
I read 100 Years of Solitude in college. It is incredible! I loved that, too.
But that’s ambiguous, too. What’s with the sleeping? Lots of stuff unexplained.
Ever seen "The Usual Suspects"? 🙄🙂
I go to fiction for solace and comfort in an unreliable world full of untrustworthy people.
I do not want to be betrayed again.
I admit, you got me.
AI response: While the best way to defeat Sauron is heavily debated, many readers seem to agree on several theories ..
Click bait.
Temu.
story is made up. it’s all lies. part 2 coming 2026
B) the narrator doesn't know he's unreliable
C) it's more fun that way
It took me 5,236 words to realize that VLAD TALTOS knew about as much as I did about what was going on. That was half the fun
Now I'm 15 books in and it's my favorite series, by Steven Brust
Reading "it was the worst of times": that lying, son of a bitch
"Was it all just a lie?": challenging, literary, thought-provoking,