Our book club argued for an hour about whether unreliable narrators are cheating

I used to think a narrator holding back info was just bad writing, but after reading "We Have Always Lived in the Castle" last month I totally flipped. Has anyone else had a book club debate get this heated over a single storytelling choice?

2 comments

2 Comments

robertb473d ago

Wait, you're telling me people actually think unreliable narrators are cheating? That's wild to me because "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd" literally would not work without its narrator playing games with the reader. I remember my book club splitting right down the middle over that one, with one guy insisting it was a dirty trick and the rest of us saying it's just good storytelling when done right. What book did your group fight over, was it a specific one or just the general idea?

the_emma2d ago

Ackroyd split my group too, one guy walked out mid-chapter.