The Turn of the Screw
Henry James · 1898
The governess's written account is the only source for the ghosts, so the reader must decide whether her manuscript is a truthful record or a self-serving invention.
Shared book picks
6 book picks worth a look
Someone shared these with you from Highstreett’s book search. Every title is checked against an ISBN record. The links below help you find an edition from the retailer available for this search’s country.
Alias Grace
Margaret Atwood · 1996
Grace's spoken and written confessions shift with each telling, and the novel makes the reader weigh which version of her story is the manipulation.
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd
Agatha Christie · 1926
The entire novel is a written testimony that turns out to be a performance, making the reader question every page of the narrator's account in the same way Lowen questions Verity's manuscript.
The Thirteenth Tale
Diane Setterfield · 2006
A dying novelist's written life story is full of gaps and contradictions, and the biographer reading it must decide which version of the document to believe.
The Secret History
Donna Tartt · 1992
The narrator's first person written confession of a murder is seductive and controlled, and the gap between what he admits and what he withholds keeps the reader guessing about the truth of his account.
The Silent Patient
Alex Michaelides · 2018
A diary kept by a woman who will not speak becomes the document the reader trusts and doubts, driving the same question of which written account is the lie.
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