It doesn't even have to be a protagonist, but maybe a prominent character who loves to talk about weird or fantastical stories that supposedly happened to them and we can't tell if they're actually lying or not. Or just simply a narrative that features stories within stories or anything similar to this that comes to mind, but I would love for storytelling itself to be an important part of the book. Thanks!
by rabbitbride
4 Comments
The Princess Bride by William Goldman!!! Though here it’s not the protagonist lying, it’s the author.
Mystery/suspense ***The Plot*** by Jean Hanff Korelitz. Its protagonist has stolen a plot for a book which becomes a best seller and then must deal with the aftermath. It starts off slow, picking up the pace after Ms. Korelitz details all the work an author goes through to get a story into the hands of a reader.
There is only a single story within the story, specifically: the best seller.
Looking Glass Sound has an interesting twist on this idea.
The Name of the Wind immediately comes to mind because the whole story is basically a legendary figure telling his own life story, and part of the fun is never fully knowing how much is truth versus myth. The Lies of Locke Lamora also has that exaggerated storytelling energy where characters constantly build their own legends. And if you want something more surreal and layered, Cloud Atlas is fantastic for interconnected stories within stories.