People in my book club keep calling every narrator unreliable

We read a mystery novel last month and someone said the main character was an unreliable narrator just because she kept secrets from the reader. That's not what it means at all! She was just a private person who revealed things slowly. I remember back in college when my lit professor made us define it as a narrator who actually lies or misleads on purpose, not someone with a normal storytelling style. Has anyone else noticed this term getting thrown around way too loosely in discussions?

2 comments

2 Comments

beth_baker691mo ago

Oh man, I mean maybe it's just me but I actually think people can be unreliable without straight up lying.

jordan1341mo ago

Guilty as charged... I tell myself I'll reply in 5 minutes and it's 3 hours later.