How much of Barbara version of events do you trust? Obviously at the end Sheba discovers her manuscript and confronts her, with a ton of anger but also incredulity. She basically says Barbara is delusion, jealous and insane.
And while I definitely think Barbara has hang ups and jealousies that would obviously colour her version of events, I’m still inclined to accept most of what she’s saying is accurate. Sheba is shown to be quite childish and delusional. Plus I feel like people like Barbara, who have very empty lives of their own, do actually tend to be quite shrewd and accurate observers of the goings on around them.
But of course both of those impressions have been formed off the back of what Barbara has written. Oh the joys of the unreliable narrator! I’m curious to hear the opinions of others who have read the book. Is Barbara a weird bitter woman spinning a tale, is Sheba just in denial, or do you think the ‘truth’ lies somewhere in between?
by Evening_Ad6820
1 Comment
I could definitely see it. The scene that never made any sense to me was when that teacher Brian showed up at Barbara’s to ask her if she thought he had a chance with Sheba. Why would he do that, knowing that Sheba was a married mother of two? Why would he ask Barbara? Yes, she and Sheba were friends, but nobody else at the school wanted anything to do with Barbara. It just seems unlikely, so it would be plausible that Barbara was an unreliable narrator. Barbara would want to be seen as the gatekeeper to Sheba’s relationships.