Post by Dr. Nemmers on Jun 15, 2024 5:06:28 GMT
Whom in this novel (if anyone) can we trust? Whom can any of the characters themselves trust?
I think we can confidently say that the answer to these questions is, well no one.
But the follow up question is, can they trust themselves, either? I've been going back and forth on how much of Mike's amnesia is willful or convenient; that is, he seems to remember what he wants to and forget the rest. When Lannie is talking, does she even know what she's saying or does she just sort of free-associating a mash-up of cultural references, lies, inventions, and bullshit? We know that Guinivere changes her story depending on the audience and what she feels like. And Hollingsworth and Macleod are caught over and over again doing their worst with the truth.
As readers, we've become accustomed to everyone being duplicitous and an unreliable narrator. How do you even read a story like that? And if you're Mike, how do you even live through that (or live with yourself?)
I think we can confidently say that the answer to these questions is, well no one.
But the follow up question is, can they trust themselves, either? I've been going back and forth on how much of Mike's amnesia is willful or convenient; that is, he seems to remember what he wants to and forget the rest. When Lannie is talking, does she even know what she's saying or does she just sort of free-associating a mash-up of cultural references, lies, inventions, and bullshit? We know that Guinivere changes her story depending on the audience and what she feels like. And Hollingsworth and Macleod are caught over and over again doing their worst with the truth.
As readers, we've become accustomed to everyone being duplicitous and an unreliable narrator. How do you even read a story like that? And if you're Mike, how do you even live through that (or live with yourself?)
