Innocent Unreliable Narrator
February 18, 2010 1:15 PM Subscribe
Looking for books or films told from the point of view of an innocent unreliable narrator.
Examples given inside.
Examples:
Novels:
Remains of the Day
Flowers for Algernon
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime
Films:
Badlands
Days of Heaven
Interested in novels told in first person POV and in films with lots of voice-over narration.
I've seen this thread. But, I'm NOT looking for narrators who are unreliable because they are liars or villians, but where the unreliability is due to lack of self-awareness, experience, intellect, etc.
Examples:
Novels:
Remains of the Day
Flowers for Algernon
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime
Films:
Badlands
Days of Heaven
Interested in novels told in first person POV and in films with lots of voice-over narration.
I've seen this thread. But, I'm NOT looking for narrators who are unreliable because they are liars or villians, but where the unreliability is due to lack of self-awareness, experience, intellect, etc.
Faulkner's The Sound and the Fury (Benjy, spec.)
posted by griphus at 1:22 PM on February 18, 2010 [4 favorites]
posted by griphus at 1:22 PM on February 18, 2010 [4 favorites]
The first part of the three-part novel Atonement seems like a borderline case of this - it's clear later on that the first part was written by the narrator when she was an adult, but her experiences and reactions are clearly colored by her innocence and naivety.
posted by muddgirl at 1:22 PM on February 18, 2010 [2 favorites]
posted by muddgirl at 1:22 PM on February 18, 2010 [2 favorites]
Memento's narrator is unreliable because he cannot make new memories. His storytelling is through his unreliable system of post-its and polariods.
posted by milestogo at 1:22 PM on February 18, 2010 [5 favorites]
posted by milestogo at 1:22 PM on February 18, 2010 [5 favorites]
Nick Carraway in The Greaat Gatsby.
The best commentary I ever heard about this character questioned whether or not he might be gay/have a crush on Gatsby himself!
Regardless, I think he fits your criteria for unreliability due to lack of self-awareness, experience with the likes of Tom, Daisy, Gatsby, etc. etc.
In fact, the entire novel is sorta about Nick coming to grips with the duplicity of certain folks in society, If you think about it. He's quite naive, I think. But not by the end.
posted by jbenben at 1:23 PM on February 18, 2010 [1 favorite]
The best commentary I ever heard about this character questioned whether or not he might be gay/have a crush on Gatsby himself!
Regardless, I think he fits your criteria for unreliability due to lack of self-awareness, experience with the likes of Tom, Daisy, Gatsby, etc. etc.
In fact, the entire novel is sorta about Nick coming to grips with the duplicity of certain folks in society, If you think about it. He's quite naive, I think. But not by the end.
posted by jbenben at 1:23 PM on February 18, 2010 [1 favorite]
The Handmaid's Tale probably qualifies...she even confesses to making a few things up.
posted by Melismata at 1:24 PM on February 18, 2010 [4 favorites]
posted by Melismata at 1:24 PM on February 18, 2010 [4 favorites]
A case can be made for the protagonist's relative "innocence" in Fight Club (both the book and the novel.)
posted by griphus at 1:27 PM on February 18, 2010 [2 favorites]
posted by griphus at 1:27 PM on February 18, 2010 [2 favorites]
The one where Bruce willis is actually a ghost?
posted by bonobothegreat at 1:29 PM on February 18, 2010
posted by bonobothegreat at 1:29 PM on February 18, 2010
Into Thin Air - my recollection is that the way he tells the story changes during the book, as he realizes he couldn't (for a variety of reasons) tell what was going on.
posted by dirtdirt at 1:30 PM on February 18, 2010
posted by dirtdirt at 1:30 PM on February 18, 2010
Catcher in the Rye is the classic example, and I see that Holden Caulfield is in the other thread, but I would consider him an innocent.
There is a lot of first person POV in the young adult genres -- I think this may because first person stories are actually easier to understand. (As a child, I could understand first person adult novels before I could read third person adult novels -- the plots were simpler). Entries from a Hot Pink Notebook has an innocent, but not terribly unreliable narrator (there aren't a lot of secrets, though as an adult you see things differently than the 14-year old narrator). My So-Called Life is a television program with a lot of personal voice-over from the main character. Both are very realistic protrayels of teenage life.
More recently, I've really enjoyed the Farseer Trilogy, a fantasy series told entirely through the first person voice of a boy and young man. It is followed up with a second trilogy, The Tawny Man, also with the same narrator -- in this trilogy I felt like I (as the reader) really did know more than the narrator, but that was because a) I had read the interveening cross-over trilogy which had events that he could not know about and b) something happened to him at the end of the first trilogy to increase his inability to understand some things.
posted by jb at 1:32 PM on February 18, 2010
There is a lot of first person POV in the young adult genres -- I think this may because first person stories are actually easier to understand. (As a child, I could understand first person adult novels before I could read third person adult novels -- the plots were simpler). Entries from a Hot Pink Notebook has an innocent, but not terribly unreliable narrator (there aren't a lot of secrets, though as an adult you see things differently than the 14-year old narrator). My So-Called Life is a television program with a lot of personal voice-over from the main character. Both are very realistic protrayels of teenage life.
More recently, I've really enjoyed the Farseer Trilogy, a fantasy series told entirely through the first person voice of a boy and young man. It is followed up with a second trilogy, The Tawny Man, also with the same narrator -- in this trilogy I felt like I (as the reader) really did know more than the narrator, but that was because a) I had read the interveening cross-over trilogy which had events that he could not know about and b) something happened to him at the end of the first trilogy to increase his inability to understand some things.
posted by jb at 1:32 PM on February 18, 2010
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (the novel, not the movie). Chief Broom, the narrator: "It's still hard for me to have a clear mind thinking on it. But it's the truth even if it didn't happen."
posted by mosk at 1:35 PM on February 18, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by mosk at 1:35 PM on February 18, 2010 [1 favorite]
The Fall has both unreliable narrators and unreliable listeners.
Tideland fits to a degree, as well.
More arguably, a case can be made for significant chunks of Pan's Labyrinth.
posted by Drastic at 1:40 PM on February 18, 2010 [1 favorite]
Tideland fits to a degree, as well.
More arguably, a case can be made for significant chunks of Pan's Labyrinth.
posted by Drastic at 1:40 PM on February 18, 2010 [1 favorite]
Gene Wolfe's Soldier of the Mist (and its sequels), and also his Wizard Knight novels would probably fit the bill. Wolfe has pretty much built his career on the portrayal of unreliable narrators, and to very good effect.
posted by le morte de bea arthur at 1:43 PM on February 18, 2010
posted by le morte de bea arthur at 1:43 PM on February 18, 2010
It's been a while since I read it, but Days of Atonement by Walter Jon Williams.
posted by Confess, Fletch at 1:45 PM on February 18, 2010
posted by Confess, Fletch at 1:45 PM on February 18, 2010
Memento's narrator is unreliable because he cannot make new memories. His storytelling is through his unreliable system of post-its and polariods.
Um... how is this character innocent (SPOILER FOLLOWS) given what we eventually learn about how he deliberately manipulates his own condition?
posted by rokusan at 1:48 PM on February 18, 2010 [1 favorite]
Um... how is this character innocent (SPOILER FOLLOWS) given what we eventually learn about how he deliberately manipulates his own condition?
posted by rokusan at 1:48 PM on February 18, 2010 [1 favorite]
A case could also be made for The Turn of the Screw.
posted by bearwife at 1:49 PM on February 18, 2010
posted by bearwife at 1:49 PM on February 18, 2010
I read this book once a million years ago, but: Kazuo Ishiguru's The Unconsoled. Both drove me insane and stayed with me... I'm still not sure what was going on. The narrator certainly has no idea! It's very, very different from The Remains of the Day.
posted by kestrel251 at 1:52 PM on February 18, 2010
posted by kestrel251 at 1:52 PM on February 18, 2010
A classic example of this is Ford Madox Ford's The Good Soldier.
posted by bookgirl18 at 1:56 PM on February 18, 2010 [3 favorites]
posted by bookgirl18 at 1:56 PM on February 18, 2010 [3 favorites]
This idea pretty much drives the progress of Vantage Point.
posted by cross_impact at 2:00 PM on February 18, 2010
posted by cross_impact at 2:00 PM on February 18, 2010
This may be contoversial, but if you take the 'nervous breakdown' interpretation, then: "American Psycho" - novel and film.
posted by Hugobaron at 2:03 PM on February 18, 2010
posted by Hugobaron at 2:03 PM on February 18, 2010
I would include the Alexander "Alex" Perchov sections from "Everything Is Illuminated". He may be an intentional liar in some cases, but it's clear that he doesn't lie out of malicious intent. There's also "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close" (also by Jonathan Safran Foer) which has a young kid as the narrating voice.
posted by ghostiger at 2:03 PM on February 18, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by ghostiger at 2:03 PM on February 18, 2010 [1 favorite]
A great book that fits this description is I Capture the Castle, by Dodi Smith.
posted by zoetrope at 2:26 PM on February 18, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by zoetrope at 2:26 PM on February 18, 2010 [1 favorite]
You could probably debate unreliability, but another that came to mind (non fiction) is Jeanette walls The Glass Castle. I think Rebecca would qualify too, as the narrator is very wrong for most of the book. A similar narrator issue shows up in A Separate Peace.
posted by bearwife at 2:40 PM on February 18, 2010
posted by bearwife at 2:40 PM on February 18, 2010
The Death of Sweet Mister, Daniel Woodrell
Carry Me Down, M.J. Hyland
The Wasp Factory, Iain Banks
posted by Wantok at 2:41 PM on February 18, 2010
Carry Me Down, M.J. Hyland
The Wasp Factory, Iain Banks
posted by Wantok at 2:41 PM on February 18, 2010
Godwin's Caleb Williams comes to mind. He's portrayed as a villain by everyone in the novel but the narrator's point of view is innocent, yet unreliable.
posted by Hiker at 2:43 PM on February 18, 2010
posted by Hiker at 2:43 PM on February 18, 2010
The first book I thought of was And the Ass Saw the Angel by Nick Cave.
posted by Eumachia L F at 2:56 PM on February 18, 2010
posted by Eumachia L F at 2:56 PM on February 18, 2010
Fight Club?
I don't remember if it would apply to the book (I imagine yes), but certainly the film..
posted by pkphy39 at 3:05 PM on February 18, 2010
I don't remember if it would apply to the book (I imagine yes), but certainly the film..
posted by pkphy39 at 3:05 PM on February 18, 2010
Gilead by Marilyn Robinson -- I think the narrator is sincerely unaware of his wife's true identity, despite the clues peppered throughout his story.
posted by Malla at 3:18 PM on February 18, 2010
posted by Malla at 3:18 PM on February 18, 2010
Anne Rice's Interview With A Vampire.
Louis portrays the circumstances of his life, his "maker" Lestat, and his vampirehood generally from a victim-y perspective. In the sequel, The Vampire Lestat, Lestat gives, like, a totally different take on the events covered in the first book.
Ha! Ha! Look what I just found in the the first paragraph from the wiki page for Lestat:
"The Vampire Lestat (1985) is a novel by Anne Rice, and the second in her Vampire Chronicles, following Interview with the Vampire. Many events in the two books appear to contradict each other. These inconsistencies provide a good example of the unreliable narrator, allowing the readers to decide which version of events they believe to be accurate."
emphasis mine;)
posted by jbenben at 3:26 PM on February 18, 2010
Louis portrays the circumstances of his life, his "maker" Lestat, and his vampirehood generally from a victim-y perspective. In the sequel, The Vampire Lestat, Lestat gives, like, a totally different take on the events covered in the first book.
Ha! Ha! Look what I just found in the the first paragraph from the wiki page for Lestat:
"The Vampire Lestat (1985) is a novel by Anne Rice, and the second in her Vampire Chronicles, following Interview with the Vampire. Many events in the two books appear to contradict each other. These inconsistencies provide a good example of the unreliable narrator, allowing the readers to decide which version of events they believe to be accurate."
emphasis mine;)
posted by jbenben at 3:26 PM on February 18, 2010
Came here to suggest Tideland and Pan's Labyrinth. Very similar thematically and told from the protagonists very suspect perception. Tideland is more subtle and perhaps more disturbing.
posted by elendil71 at 3:36 PM on February 18, 2010
posted by elendil71 at 3:36 PM on February 18, 2010
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang relies on this to a degree
posted by JauntyFedora at 3:45 PM on February 18, 2010
posted by JauntyFedora at 3:45 PM on February 18, 2010
I'm not sure if it fits what you're looking for, but Jonathon Lethem's book Motherless Brooklyn is a fantastic read either way.
Also I read awhile back that Ed Norton was making a movie of it, but it must have stalled at some point.
posted by mannequito at 4:32 PM on February 18, 2010 [1 favorite]
Also I read awhile back that Ed Norton was making a movie of it, but it must have stalled at some point.
posted by mannequito at 4:32 PM on February 18, 2010 [1 favorite]
I just read a review of the series mentioned here, about a narcoleptic detective whose investigations are hampered by his uncertainty that details and interactions aren't dreams. Haven't read the books but it's an interesting light premise.
posted by dervish at 4:47 PM on February 18, 2010
posted by dervish at 4:47 PM on February 18, 2010
Cosigning Motherless Brooklyn I was coming in to recommend that one. If you find you like that one, you might also like The Speed of Dark
posted by willnot at 4:52 PM on February 18, 2010
posted by willnot at 4:52 PM on February 18, 2010
I came in to suggest what kestrel251 suggests: Ishiguro's The Unconsoled. The narrator is unreliable b/c the reality of the whole book has an odd slipping quality, like the whole thing is a dream or something.
posted by aka burlap at 4:54 PM on February 18, 2010
posted by aka burlap at 4:54 PM on February 18, 2010
The God Boy - Ian Cross A novel set in New Zealand during the Great Depression. It's told from the perspective of a 9 year old boy going through extreme emotional trauma stemming from his parents’ spiteful marriage. Contrasting this is the way he narrates with such a a childish idiom and his is ignorance what’s really happening but his description makes it plain how sinister everything is.
posted by mataboy at 6:27 PM on February 18, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by mataboy at 6:27 PM on February 18, 2010 [1 favorite]
The movie The Big Fish has an unreliable narrator, but with the twist that it turns out he was more reliable than expected.
posted by cerebus19 at 7:06 PM on February 18, 2010 [2 favorites]
posted by cerebus19 at 7:06 PM on February 18, 2010 [2 favorites]
I'd say Fight Club qualifies, depending on whether you see the main character(s) as innocent.
posted by cerebus19 at 7:08 PM on February 18, 2010
posted by cerebus19 at 7:08 PM on February 18, 2010
Oh, and, of course, Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.
posted by cerebus19 at 7:34 PM on February 18, 2010
posted by cerebus19 at 7:34 PM on February 18, 2010
Severian in Gene Wolfe's New Sun series might qualify - he's certainly unreliable, though questionably innocent.
posted by inire at 7:56 PM on February 18, 2010
posted by inire at 7:56 PM on February 18, 2010
I believe the title character in Henry James' What Maisie Knew would qualify as this sort of unreliable narrator.
posted by sixo33 at 9:48 PM on February 18, 2010
posted by sixo33 at 9:48 PM on February 18, 2010
Though, now that I read your question again, I realize that WMK isn't in first person -- as with most of James' novels, it's in a highly focalized third person -- so my suggestion isn't very germane. My apologies.
posted by sixo33 at 9:53 PM on February 18, 2010
posted by sixo33 at 9:53 PM on February 18, 2010
Many of Philip K. Dick's books have an unreliable 3rd person narrator who may not know what's going (The Man in the High Castle, Ubik and A Scanner Darkly come to mind). But Valis, specifically, has this on several levels, and is arguably a first person narration, even when it's not. In the first pages the narrator explains that he's trying to write in third person to get some perspective on events. He often slips. I understand it's somewhat autobiographical based on Dick's psychotic episode and co-dependant relationships during the time and written up in "novelized" form in about two weeks. The narrator isn't evil, he's trying to help and get help as best he can. He has some self-awareness but it's shattered by delusion. It's intense.
posted by wobh at 10:34 PM on February 18, 2010
posted by wobh at 10:34 PM on February 18, 2010
Oh man, William Golding's The Inheritors was a great version of this. The narrator is a Neanderthal that has difficulty understanding the world around him.
posted by FuManchu at 11:56 PM on February 18, 2010
posted by FuManchu at 11:56 PM on February 18, 2010
Sarah Waters's excellent The Little Stranger, which came out last year, is a good example of this. (Although it's up to each individual reader to judge the extent to which the narrator is calculating rather than simply deluded and naive.) It's a fabulous read, though.
posted by Sonny Jim at 3:57 AM on February 19, 2010
posted by Sonny Jim at 3:57 AM on February 19, 2010
The Amber series by Roger Zelazny starts out that way, though over time the narrator figures out what's going on.
posted by rjs at 9:07 AM on February 19, 2010
posted by rjs at 9:07 AM on February 19, 2010
While it's not a first-person narration, there's a long-standing (perhaps the longest-standing) debate in Jane Austen criticism about exactly how innocent Fanny Price (from Mansfield Park) is, or isn't.
Also, if you can track it down, there's a sci-fi short story from ~30 years ago called "I am large, I contain multitudes" by Melisa Michaels that's an excellent example of an innocent unreliable narrator...
posted by Pickman's Next Top Model at 10:14 AM on February 19, 2010
Also, if you can track it down, there's a sci-fi short story from ~30 years ago called "I am large, I contain multitudes" by Melisa Michaels that's an excellent example of an innocent unreliable narrator...
posted by Pickman's Next Top Model at 10:14 AM on February 19, 2010
Sarah Waters' Fingersmith hinges on the innocence of the narrator. I can't say much more than that without spoiling it, but it is the only novel that has ever made me squeal aloud, and I have read a LOT of novels.
posted by stuck on an island at 11:02 AM on February 19, 2010
posted by stuck on an island at 11:02 AM on February 19, 2010
Seconding wobh on Valis. There's a pretty mind-blowing reveal about halfway through.
posted by aquanaut at 1:24 PM on February 19, 2010
posted by aquanaut at 1:24 PM on February 19, 2010
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by kitcat at 1:19 PM on February 18, 2010