Unreliable Narrator: Who Is Speaking and Can They Be Trusted?

Narrative Reliability and Its Violation

Classical narrative presupposes a “reliable narrator”—a narrative voice the reader trusts. The narrator may make mistakes, but does not intentionally conceal the truth. Twentieth-century literature systematically undermines this trust.

Wayne Booth (“The Rhetoric of Fiction”, 1961) introduced the concept of the “unreliable narrator”: a character whose story diverges from “real” events—due to limited knowledge, self-deception, psychological instability, or intentional deception of the reader. This is one of the most productive narrative inventions of the twentieth century.

Classical Examples

Notes from Underground by Dostoevsky (1864) features one of the first unreliable narrators in world literature. The “Underground Man” himself admits that he contradicts himself, that he lies, that he does not understand his own motives. Yet it is precisely this unreliability that creates the illusion of psychological authenticity.

Nabokov’s Lolita (1955)—Humbert Humbert narrates a story of “great love”, using sophisticated language to conceal the reality of child rape. The reader must read “against” the narrator—notice what he hides, what he downplays. This is one of the most radical experiments with unreliability in literature.

The Kukotsky Enigma by Ulitskaya, The Tin Drum by Grass, Rashomon by Akutagawa—all are built on fundamental unreliability or the multiplicity of narrative perspectives. Rashomon: one murder, four contradictory versions. The truth is unattainable—everyone has their own story.

Narrative Unreliability in Life

The concept of the unreliable narrator is not just a literary device. It describes the ordinary way humans tell stories. We are all unreliable narrators of our own lives: we choose what to remember, what to interpret, what to withhold.

Courtroom testimonies are narratives that the court evaluates for reliability. Corporate reports are narratives of management. Political speeches are narratives of power. Everywhere, the question “who benefits from this?”—is the first step towards critical reading.

“Critical reading” of the media is the application of the skills for dealing with unreliable narrators: who is speaking? From what position? What is being concealed? What is being exaggerated? This is the application of literary criticism to the real world.

Question for Reflection: Recall a conflict in which you participated. Retell it from the “other side’s” perspective, as honestly as possible. What has changed in your understanding of the situation?