tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3529128955266044151.post5153309409975375205..comments2023-10-31T10:59:03.023-04:00Comments on INKSPOT Crime Fiction Blog | A Place for Mystery, Mayhem, Writing and Life: Why Lie?Linda O. Johnstonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01512430135042480450noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3529128955266044151.post-35148404149858673462007-08-10T21:38:00.000-04:002007-08-10T21:38:00.000-04:00I'm Tess's sister, reading this blog over her shou...I'm Tess's sister, reading this blog over her shoulder. We're thinking about collaborating on a mystery series that features a pathological liar, so your post is timely for sure.<BR/><BR/>BTW, we both like the Whiskey Mattimoe books. A lot! Since Tess forgot to mention that, I'd better be the Big Sister and get the job done.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3529128955266044151.post-18372776212451067052007-08-10T21:32:00.000-04:002007-08-10T21:32:00.000-04:00I find this topic fascinating! Thanks, Nina, for ...I find this topic fascinating! <BR/><BR/>Thanks, Nina, for asking those questions. They're great stimuli for a starting writer like me.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3529128955266044151.post-68437228879672247952007-08-07T19:13:00.000-04:002007-08-07T19:13:00.000-04:00Sue Ann, you need the sweatshirt a dear friend of ...Sue Ann, you need the sweatshirt a dear friend of mine gave me for Christmas last year. It reads, "Careful or you'll end up in one of my novels." I'll have to see if it's available in something black and slinky.<BR/><BR/>I'm writing about Black Widows, for Lordy's sakes. You wonder why I'm still single?Felicia Donovanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03556232226152556397noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3529128955266044151.post-42813596688866239872007-08-07T16:02:00.000-04:002007-08-07T16:02:00.000-04:00I'm with you, Bill, on PLEADING GUILTY, and Turow ...I'm with you, Bill, on PLEADING GUILTY, and Turow in general. <BR/><BR/>Katie, I agree that the unreliable narrator is a tricky fixture, usually but as Turow proves, not exclusively spotted in literary fiction. I immediately think of the unreliable narrators in WUTHERING HEIGHTS and Jane Austen's EMMA. But then I was an English major. Mea culpa. <BR/><BR/>DannAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3529128955266044151.post-71806890429515741592007-08-07T15:47:00.000-04:002007-08-07T15:47:00.000-04:00Pleading Guilty by Scott Turow features an unrelia...Pleading Guilty by Scott Turow features an unreliable narrator. I love all of Turow, but I love Pleading Guilty best of all. Great novel.Bill Cameronhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04796321136771189464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3529128955266044151.post-47399828096028252202007-08-07T14:19:00.000-04:002007-08-07T14:19:00.000-04:00I associate the convention of the unreliable narra...I associate the convention of the unreliable narrator with literary fiction, but I suspect that it appears in genre fiction, too. Can't give you an example, however. <BR/><BR/>Can anyone? Intriguing post, Nina.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3529128955266044151.post-72571838330981759872007-08-07T11:13:00.000-04:002007-08-07T11:13:00.000-04:00I agree with Felicia. Characters who lie can be in...I agree with Felicia. Characters who lie can be interesting and add a lot of spark and spice. In fact if they always told the truth, how much fun or work would the sleuth have? But to a certain degree, the reader must trust the narrator. A narrator can tell the story from his/her personal prospective, which may or may not be the truth, but shouldn't willfully lie to the reader about that prospective.<BR/><BR/>As for your old friend ... I once had a disasterous date where at the end the guy said, "Just make sure I don't end up in one of your novels." My snappy reply: "You're not interesting enough."<BR/><BR/>And people wonder why such a gem as myself is single? :)Sue Ann Jaffarianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09984054116933714621noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3529128955266044151.post-14286403114716199342007-08-07T05:57:00.000-04:002007-08-07T05:57:00.000-04:00Excellent post, Nina. I think the distinction betw...Excellent post, Nina. <BR/><BR/>I think the distinction between a character that lies and a narrator that lies is an important one. Characters that lie can be quite interesting and justifiable from an author's standpoint if it makes them more human. They may lie for their own egotistical reasons or simply out of habit. Whatever the reason, it seems far more acceptable than a narrator who lies and misleads the reader. That just seems like a gimmick, though I'm sure everyone out there probably knows of a novel or two where this technique was used with great success. <BR/><BR/>And by the way, my Black Widows do not take kindly to men who mistreat women if you require any assistance...Felicia Donovanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03556232226152556397noreply@blogger.com