“Sometimes I think I am the unreliable narrator of my own life. Sometimes I think we all are.”
There are many different ways of telling a story, and a whole host of tools and techniques writers can use to create tension and deliver shocking twists. One of the most effective means of doing this is through unreliable narrators – a character who purposefully withholds information or lies to the reader. Unreliable narrators make readers question what they think they know about the story, making them more engaged and encouraging them to reach their conclusions. Join us today at What We Reading as we lift the lid on what an unreliable narrator is, some of the best examples of unreliable narrators in books and some of the best strategies you can use to begin writing your own effective unreliable narrator!
What Is An Unreliable Narrator In Writing?
An unreliable narrator is a storyteller who cannot be trusted when it comes to telling the narrative of a story truthfully. Unreliable narrators most often come in the form of the first person, though this doesn’t always have to be the case. The unreliable narrator is either unintentionally uninformed or misguided, or deliberately deceitful, which forces readers to question how much they can be trusted with what they are describing.
5 Types Of Unreliable Narrators
A first-person narrator is generally used for unreliable narrators as it is easier for authors to assign characteristics, personality traits and motivations that make them seem untrustworthy. Based on these, an unreliable narrator can fall into one of five types:
The Madman
Madman narrators are unreliable because they are detached from reality. Patrick Bateman in Bret Easton Ellis’ American Psycho is a confessed serial killer, narrating his killing spree. That is until one of his supposed victims is shown to be alive and well, making readers question how much of Bateman’s story is true.
The Picaro
Picaro narrators brag and exaggerate the truth to make their story seem better. Moll Flanders from Daniel Defoe’s classic work is a prime example of this, lying about her social status to marry wealthier men and inherit their fortunes.
The Naif
Unlike other unreliable narrators, naif narrators are unintentionally inaccurate. This is usually either to do with their age or abilities. In Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Huck is an unreliable narrator due to his young age and status as a white boy in a racist society.
The Clown
Clown narrators revel with their storytelling, and almost appear to be having fun towing readers between what is accurate and what isn’t. A character like Amy Dunne in Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn embodies this by taking advantage of conventions to encourage readers to sympathise with her before the shocking revelations are finally revealed.
The Liar
Finally, the most famous and deliberate type of unreliable narrator. The liar makes up stories to evade suspicion or achieve a desired goal. In Agatha Christie’s The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, Dr James Shepphard narrates his assistance with the investigation alongside Hercule Poirot, presenting himself as a trusted professional and a close ally. Yet, by the time Poirot solves the case, readers realise they have been lied to and Shepphard is the killer.
Check Out The Best Books Where The Main Character Is A Villain
How To Write An Unreliable Narrator
For a reader to be misled by a narrator, they must believe what they’re being told. Here are some of the best ways to build suspense and conjure up twists and turns that feel unexpected and satisfying:
- Unreliable from the start: Individuals are unreliable whenever they’re telling a story from their perspective as it is filtered through their personal experiences and beliefs. Use hints from the off that might suggest your narrator is compromised or biased.
- Keeping readers in the dark: Readers are accustomed to knowing more than the characters in a story. A fun technique for writing unreliable narrators could be to have a character withhold information, only revealing it to the reader when they want to.
- Characters as soundboards: A book like The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton shows how the same event can be flipped in several ways depending on the perspective. Different narrators can be used to reflect different lenses and reflect on inconsistencies in a narrator’s storytelling.
- Experiment with reliability: Sometimes subtly can be the most effective means of delivering a gut punch. Even the most morally good characters can withhold information or tell a few white lies if they believe it is the right thing to do. Just because your narrator is well-intentioned doesn’t mean they can’t be unreliable!
Wrap Up
Unreliable narrators are some of the best ways of building suspense and delivering shocking twists in a story. They break the conventional relationship of trust between a reader and a storyteller, but the most effective unreliable narrators are the ones who can seem believable for as long as possible. As the five categories above demonstrate, every effective unreliable narrator has a reason for being untrustworthy. The trick is to encourage a reader to connect with a narrator that encourages them to follow the story along, whilst layering in just enough for them to think there is more than what meets the eye.
Part-time reader, part-time rambler, and full-time Horror enthusiast, James has been writing for What We Reading since 2022. His earliest reading memories involved Historical Fiction, Fantasy and Horror tales, which he has continued to take with him to this day. James’ favourite books include The Last (Hanna Jameson), The Troop (Nick Cutter) and Chasing The Boogeyman (Richard Chizmar).
