Celebrate Truth Day with Unreliable Narrators
July 7, 2013 is Tell the Truth Day, a day that encourages everyone to be honest.
Deception is a part of life. It also appears in fiction, often in the guise of an unreliable narrator. An unreliable narrator is a first-person narrator whose credibility is compromised and who is unwilling or unable to present an accurate version of events.
One of the great joys of this type of fiction is the reader's gradual realization that the narrator cannot be trusted. As you can imagine, this makes creating a list of these books difficult. For this list, I've only included books where the narrator is a child or has a condition (known from the outset) that prevents a completely objective narrative. These are sometimes called innocent unreliable narrators.
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Atonement by Ian McEwan
• eBook
• Large Print
A young girl's inability to completely understand the adult world leads to tragedy.
Before I Go to Sleep by S. J. Watson
• Audiobook
• eAudiobook
• eBook
• Large Print
• Talking Book (restricted to Print Disabled patrons)
Narrator Christine has a rare form of amnesia that prevents her from forming new memories. The novel follows her quest to learn the truth about her past, completely dependent on information provided by people who may be deceiving her.
Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
• Large Print
Holden Caulfield, hero of the classic novel of youth alienation, isn't as innocent as the others on the list but he does admit quite early in the book that he's a "terrific liar".
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon
• Audiobook
• eAudiobook
• eBook
• Large Print
• Talking Book (restricted to Print Disabled patrons)
An autistic fifteen year old investigates the death of a neighbour's dog reporting events from his own unique perspective.
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey
• Audiobook
Chief Bromden describes life in a mental hospital from his perspective as a paranoid, heavily medicated patient.
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Room by Emma Donoghue
• Audiobook
• eAudiobook
• eBook
• Large Print
• Talking Book (restricted to Print Disabled patrons)
Narrator Jack is a five-year-old whose entire life has been spent in a shed where his mother has been imprisoned for seven years.
The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13 3/4 by Sue Townsend
• eBook
Poor clueless Adrian Mole dutifully records the activities around him in his diary without fully understanding what is actually going on.
Spies by Michael Frayn
• Large Print
Two boys investigate when they suspect that one's mother is a German spy, unaware that adult life is more complex than they realize.
Turn of Mind by Alice LaPlante
• eAudiobook
• eBook
• Large Print
A retired surgeon with Alzheimer's disease is a suspect in the murder of her best friend.
We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson
• eAudiobook
Merricat Blackwood an imaginative, whimsical young woman, lives in a dilapidated mansion with her sister and uncle after the rest of the family has been murdered.
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