Unreliable narrators have been a staple of literature since Eve kidded herself that eating the apple would bring her closer to God. And the reason they are so popular is because we recognise so much of ourselves in them. That never ending dance we play with ourselves as we constantly try to justify our actions. For me, the most successful and interesting unreliable narrators are the ones who are deceiving themselves, otherwise really all they’re doing is lying. Shakespeare created a few, Macbeth probably being the most well-known, as he tries to rationalise his thirst for power behind more noble aims. We see this also in Humbert Humbert, the toxic narrator of Lolita, who disguises his paedophilia to himself behind a supposed love story. Patrick Bateman in American Psycho plays the same trick by rationalising his blood lust behind a story of revenge on consumerism.
The trope of the unreliable narrator naturally works brilliantly in thrillers. For me no one writes these characters better than Patricia Highsmith and, in fact, I think you’d be hard pushed to find a novel of hers that doesn’t have an unreliable narrator at it’s heart. Certainly her most famous creation, Ripley, is full of the self-delusion that fuels an unreliable narrator. So keen is he to deny his greed and sexuality to himself that his murders appear almost acts of mercy. My favourite of her characters however are David Kelsey in This Sweet Sickness and Edith Howland in Edith’s Diary. David Kelsey is obsessed by the married Annabelle, to the extent that he creates a home for her, convincing himself and us that it’s only a matter of time before she understands that she loves him. Edith Howland is perhaps Highmith’s most sympathetic character, desperately trying to re-write the story of her unravelling life by telling herself more and more fanciful stories about the catastrophic events unfolding around her.
Personal story-telling is at the heart of the psyche of the unreliable narrator, which is why the device of a diary or writing in the first person works so well. I’ve used a diary in my new novel and I often write in first person because that close perspective allows you to play with not just memory and what someone thinks, but also the mental gymnastics required to hold on to those beliefs. It’s also really fun for readers to watch an internal narrative falter. Rachel Watson in Girl on the Train is a great example of someone who has to work hard to keep her sense of self intact and, as events overtake her, her drinking and delusions gather pace as she unravels. Although perhaps my favourite unreliable narrators are Nick and Amy Dunne in Gone Girl, both not just deluded about each other, but also themselves. And the reason they work so well is because Gillian Flynn plays the best trick of all, by writing two characters so unreliable that they don’t even realise their true motives behind their terrible behaviours.
Unreliable Narrator, Araminta Hall’s latest thriller, is published by Macmillan on 5th March.
