The Fury by Alex Michaelides
There will be spoilers in this review. Please read at your own risk!
I read The Fury last year and absolutely loved it. I decided to re-read it again to give me some inspiration on how I should write my thriller, and I respect the storytelling even more so now.
We are all unreliable narrators of our own lives.
There’s something in the way Michaelides writes that makes The Fury insanely compelling and unputdownable. A key element is the unreliable narrator—Elliot, our main protagonist, isn’t all he appears to be and presents a narrative that is, to some extent, convincing, yet completely distorted and unrealistic. A story is being told, but it is confusing and untruthful. His whole character is not true either; he claims to be Elliot, yet reveals the man we know is simply a persona he forged to start his life anew, and to impress a world-renowned actress he had a crush on when he was younger. Everything clearly isn’t what it seems, and this constant reminder of unreliability makes the ending uncertain.
That’s the final twist. I didn’t get out alive, either. No one does in the end.
The entire narrative is mind-blowing, especially with every plot twist reveal. Each one unravelled is surprising and undermines everything you’ve read up to that point. What do you mean Lana didn’t die? What do you mean Elliot stole Barbara West’s draft of a secret play and made it his own? A play about the characters we’ve come to know on a Greek island? Were they even real? Is the book we’re reading Elliot’s version of the play? Is he still alive at this point? So many questions, so many theories, and so many inconclusive answers. I occasionally did find the constant revealing of the plot twists repetitive, but it wasn’t until I finished reading that I completely understood why they were done.
The truth is, none of it played out the way I have just described.
Elliot’s knowledge about the other characters is, in some ways, a little disturbing and obsessive, but it provides us with enough information to have an idea of who they are. Lana is frequently painted as a goddess; she is beautiful and a gorgeous ex-celebrity. Her personality? Not so much. But she loves his son, Leo, and is highly protective of him. Kate, on the other hand, is depicted as one of the villains—for having an affair with Jason because she loved him first despite Jason marrying Lana. Jason is the worst of them all since Elliot doesn’t like him, and his relationship with Lana. Elliot’s bias and unreliable storytelling are what establish the dynamics between these four characters. There’s Agathi and Nikos too, though their relevance is only within the narrative on the island and none outside of it.
Overall, aside from the slight repetitiveness of the plot twists, I am reminded of how incredible this story is, and how it is “unlike ant you’ve ever heard.” I truly recommend reading The Fury if you haven’t done so already; you won’t be disappointed!
