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A review by lilibetbombshell
Liar, Dreamer, Thief by Maria Dong
5.0
This is another one of those spectacular novels narrated in first person POV by an unreliable narrator that lets the reader know before the story even begins that we have the option to choose just how much of the story we choose to believe is true before the first words of the story have even been read. My personal favorite is Humbert Humbert from Lolita, but you could also go with Alex from A Clockwork Orange or Nick Carroway from The Great Gatsby.
The most intriguing and engaging trait about Katrina, our protagonist (and unreliable narrator), is that it’s not substance use/abuse, ultraviolence, hubris, delusional behavior, or being incredibly gullible that makes her so unreliable. Katrina is genuinely a good person who is sadly living the life of what reads like an undiagnosed schizophrenic. Ever since she was younger she has been obsessed with a children’s book that was a translation of a Korean folk tale. As she grew older her obsession with the world of the folktale conflated with the real world and it’s only by a complex system of rituals and routine that Katrina can even live a halfway present life, but every single moment of the day is a fight to keep her two worlds apart.
I can’t divulge much about the plot from this point because it’s just too easy to step over into Spoiler Land, but I’ll tell you this a surreal and sometimes heartrending tale, especially if you’re someone who is mentally ill or is close to someone who is mentally ill. The looks you get from authority figures when you try to explain what you saw when you know you likely know you look like you’re out of your mind (and, hey, fair play–you’re not) but that doesn’t mean you’re wrong. The people who straight up won’t listen to a word you say if they’re familiar with your history. The people who will try to take advantage of you due to your mental instability or just say whatever they need to say to get you away from them. A lot of this book deals as much with how vulnerable the mentally ill are to being taken advantage of by the neurotypical people of the world as it deals with how prevalent discrimination and prejudice, both covert and overt, still largely go unchecked by the system.
In the end, it’s Katrina’s neuroatypical thought processes, knowledge of the rules of her other world, her own rituals, obsessive surveillance, and fast thinking (no matter how nonsensical it may seem at the time) that ends up leading her from clue to clue, and help her to make intuitive leaps and trust her instincts against her normal courses of action. It’s a mentally-taxing and emotionally-draining journey that might leave you feeling as frail as Katrina finally was.
Liar, Dreamer, Thief is everything a great psychological thriller should be, with a bittersweet ending for an unreliable narrator who has no choices in how reliable she can be on any given day. I highly recommend it.
NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing provided me with access to this title. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own. Thank you.
File Under: 5 Star Reads/Amateur Sleuth/Psychological Fiction/Psychological Thriller/Suspense Thriller
The most intriguing and engaging trait about Katrina, our protagonist (and unreliable narrator), is that it’s not substance use/abuse, ultraviolence, hubris, delusional behavior, or being incredibly gullible that makes her so unreliable. Katrina is genuinely a good person who is sadly living the life of what reads like an undiagnosed schizophrenic. Ever since she was younger she has been obsessed with a children’s book that was a translation of a Korean folk tale. As she grew older her obsession with the world of the folktale conflated with the real world and it’s only by a complex system of rituals and routine that Katrina can even live a halfway present life, but every single moment of the day is a fight to keep her two worlds apart.
I can’t divulge much about the plot from this point because it’s just too easy to step over into Spoiler Land, but I’ll tell you this a surreal and sometimes heartrending tale, especially if you’re someone who is mentally ill or is close to someone who is mentally ill. The looks you get from authority figures when you try to explain what you saw when you know you likely know you look like you’re out of your mind (and, hey, fair play–you’re not) but that doesn’t mean you’re wrong. The people who straight up won’t listen to a word you say if they’re familiar with your history. The people who will try to take advantage of you due to your mental instability or just say whatever they need to say to get you away from them. A lot of this book deals as much with how vulnerable the mentally ill are to being taken advantage of by the neurotypical people of the world as it deals with how prevalent discrimination and prejudice, both covert and overt, still largely go unchecked by the system.
In the end, it’s Katrina’s neuroatypical thought processes, knowledge of the rules of her other world, her own rituals, obsessive surveillance, and fast thinking (no matter how nonsensical it may seem at the time) that ends up leading her from clue to clue, and help her to make intuitive leaps and trust her instincts against her normal courses of action. It’s a mentally-taxing and emotionally-draining journey that might leave you feeling as frail as Katrina finally was.
Liar, Dreamer, Thief is everything a great psychological thriller should be, with a bittersweet ending for an unreliable narrator who has no choices in how reliable she can be on any given day. I highly recommend it.
NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing provided me with access to this title. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own. Thank you.
File Under: 5 Star Reads/Amateur Sleuth/Psychological Fiction/Psychological Thriller/Suspense Thriller