Unreliable Narrators, Twisted Truths: Why We Love Being Fooled in Books

It’s week two of April’s theme on Fully-Booked, and in today's literary podcast episode, we’re diving deep into the world of fools, tricksters, and - our main focus today - unreliable narrators.

Last week, we examined the mythological and folkloric origins of fools and tricksters - how these figures evolved and what they symbolized. This week, we’re exploring how those archetypes translate into literary devices, especially when it comes to unreliable narrators. It’s a natural progression: What happens when the trickster gets to tell the story?

What Makes a Narrator Unreliable?

We started by teasing out a basic premise:

• Not all unreliable narrators are tricksters.
• But every trickster who narrates is, in some form, unreliable.

When a trickster character narrates a story, readers are immediately on guard. Are they bending the truth, lying outright, or withholding key information? Their intent to manipulate the narrative often colors everything they say. This introduces a built-in level of mistrust, pushing readers to question what's true and what’s fabricated constantly.

Unreliable narrators challenge:

• Reader assumptions
• The line between truth and fiction
• Moral boundaries and societal norms

As readers, we end up reflecting on our own perceptions. Are we missing signs of dishonesty? Were there clues we should have caught earlier? This layered storytelling technique becomes especially potent in modern fiction, where readers enjoy being kept on their toes.

Examples Of Trickster Narrators

Arthur posed an interesting question: Do we enjoy being tricked as readers? Meaghan said yes - most of the time. She loves it when a book surprises her in a way she didn’t see coming. With so much content available these days, true surprises are rare and, therefore, even more satisfying.

Meaghan’s recent favorite in this category?

The Last House on Needless Street by Catriona Ward.

• A psychological thriller with multiple points of view.
• Several narrators, each unreliable for different reasons.
• One of the narrators is a cat.
• Made Meaghan’s top 5 list the year she read it.

Types Of Trickster Narrators

Arthur then introduced some types of trickster narrators, each with a corresponding example:

• The Charming Liar:
  • The Gospel of Loki by Joanne M. Harris
  • Loki narrates Norse myths in a sarcastic, self-serving tone.
• The Trickster “Playing Dumb”:
  • Pale Fire by Vladimir Nabokov
  • Charles, the narrator, presents himself as humble but co-opts the text for his own delusional storytelling.
• The Con Artist:
  • The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch
  • Locke recounts smooth, confident cons while hiding important facts.
• The Satirical Joker:
  • Lamb by Christopher Moore
  • Narrated by Biff, Jesus’ childhood friend, offering a wild and irreverent version of the gospels.

Meaghan also mentioned Moore’s Fool, a retelling of King Lear from the jester’s point of view - full of skewed perception and dark humor.

Breaking Down Unreliable Narrator Types

We moved on to categorize unreliable narrators, going beyond trickster stereotypes and into broader literary theory. Meaghan broke it down with literary references and examples:

1. Naive Narrators

Often, children or individuals who don’t grasp the full