Debate in my book club last week about whether a narrator can be too unreliable

Three members walked out when I said the narrator in our current pick is just a liar, not unreliable, and now I'm wondering where the line actually is between a clever narrative trick and the author just messing with us.

2 comments

2 Comments

amy_coleman2115d ago

Respectfully disagree with making such a hard line between liar and unreliable narrator. A liar can still be a well crafted unreliable narrator if the author uses it to reveal something true about the character's worldview.

joel_butler15d ago

Agree completely, had a similar thing happen when someone in my group insisted our narrator was just lying about their past when the whole point was showing how memory gets twisted over time. It's totally a spectrum and trying to draw a hard line just kills the discussion.