The Evolution of the Unreliable Narrator in Mystery Literature
In the vast world of psychological thriller and mystery literature, truth often appears as an unclear and elusive concept. As in real life, so in literature there can be a very thin line between what is real and what is merely someone's imagination. While in reality we have more than enough instruments for bending the truth, from political propaganda to our internal defense mechanisms, in literature there is one particular (and I would say predominant) mechanism used for twisting this thin line between imagination and reality: the unreliable narrator. This literary device has come a long way from its nascent forms in classic literature to its more complex manifestations used by modern authors. Along that path, the unreliable narrator has evolved to become a powerful tool that challenges readers' perceptions and keeps them guessing until the very last page.
