…he understood that he had traveled a long way from the early days, that he still had far to go, and that, from now on, his life would be difficult and without forgiveness.
“In the Reign of Harad IV” has an excellent example of an unreliable narrator. The
protagonist, a master miniaturist in the service of Harad IV becomes dissatisfied with the work he is doing one day and resolves to challenge himself by making something smaller. He crafts tiny baskets of apples, a tower contained within a thimble, and many other wonders. With each achievement the
kingdom is awed but he still feels restless and begins to inch down to a scale not visible to the eye without some aid from magnifying glasses. Eventually he reaches the realm of the invisible and can no longer see his work even with the aid of magnifying glasses, but he “knows it’s still there”. This is where an unreliable narrator comes in and tests the suspension of our belief. Is there really “an ivory oblong box” or a “peacock, radiant with unseen colors?” The Master knows they’re there but knows also that no one else can see them. Are they really there? We don’t know. All we know is what he has told us and we must choose whether he is someone we’re willing to trust.