Why does everyone love the unreliable narrator twist so much?

At my book club meeting last Saturday in Portland, I argued against the group's love for Shutter Island because the twist felt like a cheat. Everyone else praised how it made them rethink the whole story, but I thought it just invalidated everything that came before. Does anyone else get annoyed when a book pulls the rug out from under you instead of earning the ending?

2 comments

2 Comments

lisa_jones216d ago

Unreliable narrators can feel like a cheat if the author doesn't leave enough clues along the way. Shutter Island actually works for me because the hints are there from the start, like the weird weather and the way the main character's memories don't quite line up. A good twist should make you want to reread the book, not throw it across the room.

olivia_chen356d ago

Strong disagree here. A great unreliable narrator shouldn't leave obvious breadcrumbs, it should make you feel uneasy and confused like the main character themselves. That discomfort is the whole point, not solving a puzzle. If you catch every hint on a first read then the twist feels flat and predictable.