3 Books that Rock Multiple POVs
Okay, technically one is a series
I’ve said before here that with each book I write, I like to challenge myself with a craft-related goal. For The Turncoat in Carrington Park, that goal was high stakes historical fiction without betraying hindsight. In Kore's Field (my fantasy novel that I don't often promote, because I’ve pivoted away from fantasy for now) I wanted to retell a Greek myth through a Christian lens in the style of Till We Have Faces, which is one of my top three favorite books of all time.
For Octavia Hall I wanted to try something a little more ambitious. Something that would fit the genre as well as set the book apart from its predecessor to give the sequel a whole new feel. So after much hemming and hawing and general procrastination, I settled on multiple perspectives, or multiple POVs.
To best illustrate my inspiration for taking on this challenge, I will share three examples that I think use this storytelling method exceptionally well. I’m sure there are other examples out there that I haven't read yet, and if you have any favorite multiple POV stories I'd love to hear them in the comments.
A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin
Yes, I know, this is probably the most popular series on the planet to use multiple POVs. So predictable, yawn. Still, it's a classic for a reason and deserves its spot on the list.
I read these books about ten years ago, at the height of the Game of Thrones craze. With the new spinoff series on HBO and the fact that many people now doubt if the books will ever be finished, I sometimes forget how unbelievably popular Game of Thrones was at that time. It seemed like everyone was reading/watching it. It was constantly referenced in sitcoms and late night talk shows.
Nerds (like myself) held court at family gatherings, sharing their theories of what might happen to whom, and whether or not Dany was ever going to freaking get back to Westeros because for crying out loud this is taking forever. When the show plot outpaced the books' plot it was HUGELY exciting. Even though I didn't watch the show I remember grilling my brother-in-law to find out what exactly was going on with the Tyrells. It was a Big Deal.
My favorite part of the books, aside from the richly patterned fantasy landscape, was the use of different perspectives. Once I determined my favorite characters I eagerly anticipated their chapters (in the last book I often just skipped straight to them, merely skimming the folks I did not care about. I suspect I am not the only reader who did this). I loved being whisked off from place to place, and looking at the map inside the front cover yet again because I couldn't remember where the Eyrie was in relation to Kings Landing. I like when physical descriptions of characters are revealed through other characters’ eyes, and the use of eavesdropping and dramatic irony is always loads of fun.
I think the best use of multiple POVs in Game of Thrones was when a death took place. A couple of books into the series, you notice a pattern develops where a character does not die while the story is within their perspective. It's always seen through the eyes of someone else. Sometimes Martin tricks you into thinking, "Wait, no, did she actually die? But there’s no way…" and draws it out for a long time, which I find compelling. It's a good use of the device, in my opinion.
The Help by Kathryn Stockett
This book holds a very special place in my heart, because when my sister recommended it to me she did so by saying, "You have got to read this book. You are just like Skeeter, it's freaking me out." Having read (and loved) the book, I now take that as a huge compliment, though I think she mainly connected those dots because I:
Was tall
Enjoyed writing but was still trying to break into that career field
Had reached my mid-twenties (okay, late twenties) with exactly zero boyfriends. And I mean zero.
The Help cycles through three different perspectives: Aibileen, Minny, and Skeeter. Like in Game of Thrones, this means we spend time in a variety of settings and with varying combinations of characters who may or may not know each other very well. Because it's also first-person POV, we gain deep insight into motivations and personalities. I love how this takes the conflict from plot-level to character-level, and the way it can add weight to even seemingly tiny actions. The fact that there aren’t many scenes with all three characters in the same room together makes it that much more exciting when it does happen.
There is also one part that steps back into third-person POV, which I think is pretty cool. If you've read it, you know I'm talking about the infamous Benefit chapter, where everything goes awry at the big Junior League fundraiser. It allows us to see all the characters from a bird's eye view as they interact with each other. Party scenes are some of my favorites to write, and I think this is an especially fun way to do it.
The Other Side of the Story by Marian Keyes
Whenever I see Notes on this site lamenting “how hard it is to get published these days," I think about this book. It's about two authors and their literary agent, and even though it's a romance (think classic Women’s Fiction) and the plot about writing novels is incidental, it contains a wealth of information about the traditional publishing industry. How hard it is to get (and keep) an agent, bidding wars for manuscripts, the suffocating stress when a much-hyped book flops, etc. And all of this takes place in a book that was released in [checks notes] 2004. There is nothing new under the sun!
Many of Marian Keyes's books are multiple POV (fun fact, her book Sushi For Beginners was my first "grown up woman's book" I ever read. At the tender age of 19 I picked up the mass market paperback off a shelf at Walmart while stocking up for a beach trip, and I've read it so many times the cover is falling off) but this one does it in a unique way. The authors’ chapters (Gemma and Lily) are written in first-person, while Jojo's story (she's the agent) is told in third person. I think it's a fun choice because there's a frenemy, she-stole-the-love-of-my-life dynamic between Gemma and Lily, and Jojo serves as an intermediary of sorts between their stories while she deals with her own drama, since she happens to be their literary agent. Marian Keyes often writes about heavier topics like depression or pregnancy loss, but this lighter read is one of my favorites. And it truly does provide insight into traditional publishing if anyone wants to read about that.
Have you ever written from multiple POVs? Was it awesome, or did you vow never to do it again? Let me know!
As your proofreader, I thought you did VERY well with your multiple povs...coming from someone who also writes in multiple povs!