kelly_rivera•6d agoProlific Poster

Just wrapped up a book club argument over unreliable narrators in mystery novels

I got into a heated debate at my book club last Tuesday over whether unreliable narrators are cheating in mystery novels. Half the group says it's a lazy trick to hide clues from the reader. The other half thinks it makes the story more realistic and forces you to rethink everything. For example, we were talking about The Girl on the Train and how the main character's drinking made her memories fuzzy. My stance is that if the author drops enough hints early on, like in Gone Girl, it's fair game. But if they just spring a twist with no setup, like in some Agatha Christie knockoffs, it feels like a bait and switch. So which side are you on? Do you think unreliable narrators are a smart tool or a cheap way to fool readers without playing fair?

3 comments

3 Comments

knight.uma6d ago

Jumped into this debate at my own book club last month and basically got laughed at for defending unreliable narrators. I argued that it's not cheating, it's just the author making you work a little harder for the payoff, but then I admitted I didn't even catch the clues in Gone Girl on my first read so maybe I'm not the best judge. The Girl on the Train felt like a copout to me because the whole "oh she's drunk so she can't remember" thing got old fast. If the narrator has a clear reason for being unreliable like memory loss or bias, and the author plants those hints, then it's fair. But if it's just a random "surprise I lied the whole time" with zero buildup, that's just lazy writing and I'd throw the book across the room.

val9745d ago

Reminds me of that time I defended a movie twist and my friend pointed out every single clue I missed, so I just sat there nodding like I knew all along. Sometimes you gotta fake it till you make it, right?

david_walker975d ago

I get what you're saying, and you make a fair point about The Girl on the Train feeling gimmicky. But I think it's tougher to pull off than it sounds. A narrator who's just a liar with no hints would be bad, sure, but a well done unreliable narrator like in Lolita or even The Good Soldier, those books only work because you're slowly realizing the person telling you the story is fooling themselves. The author has to walk a really fine line between being honest with you and keeping the story going.