POV Problems and/or confusion

[tv46]

In the first chapter of my story, Bruce is narrating the story in first person, about his encounter with Tammy and her mother. However, in the second chapter, Tammy and her mother are off with other characters and Bruce is not present. So I narrate that chapter in the third person. In the third chapter, I have two more characters, Candy and Tammy's father, go off their own, so I also narrate that chapter in the third person. In the fourth chapter, Bruce is back, along with most other characters, narrating in the first person.

Is this acceptable, or will it confuse readers.

I really like the first chapter, and would hate to have to switch it to third person.

I could have Tammy narrate the second chapter in first person, and Candy narrate the third chapter in first person.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

 

[sr71plt]

As long as you keep the sections sectioned off from each other and internally consistent, you should be fine. Mainstream writers do this.

 

[PennLady]

I'll second Pilot here. So long as it's clear to the reader what's going on and who's narrating, this isn't a problem, and (again as Pilot notes) it's been done before.

 

[Combat323]

James Patterson does this, or at least he did it with the one Alex Cross novel I read. I didn't like it at first, but it stopped bothering me after a couple of transitions. As with everything, someone out there will hate it, but most won't care as long as it's handled as advised in the above comments.

 

[sr71plt]

Jodi Picoult does it in one of the books I'm reading at the moment--Sing You Home. She also flip flops tenses occasionally. The different perspectives are fine with me, because they are divided by chapter with the chapter head identifying the perspective. The flipping of tenses is less fine with me.

The most clever use of the different perspectives I've seen is Carol Shields' Happenstance, which has the wife's story running in one direction and the husband's running in the other and meeting in the middle with some sort of mutual understanding of their differing perspectives of the same events.

 

[Combat323]

Jodi Picoult does it in one of the books I'm reading at the moment--Sing You Home. She also flip flops tenses occasionally. The different perspectives are fine with me, because they are divided by chapter with the chapter head identifying the perspective. The flipping of tenses is less fine with me.

The most clever use of the different perspectives I've seen is Carol Shields' Happenstance, which has the wife's story running in one direction and the husband's running in the other and meeting in the middle with some sort of mutual understanding of their differing perspectives of the same events.

I'll trust your judgment and check out Happenstance and maybe Sing You Home. I just finished The Caine Mutiny, which, in my opinion, should've been on my junior officer reading list long ago. My natural inclination is to read everything else by Herman Wouk and then move on to the author of the next book I enjoy, but I've vowed to vary my reading more and to read for set amounts of time instead of starting and then not sleeping or eating until I reach "The end."

 

[sr71plt]

I'll trust your judgment and check out Happenstance and maybe Sing You Home. I just finished The Caine Mutiny, which, in my opinion, should've been on my junior officer reading list long ago. My natural inclination is to read everything else by Herman Wouk and then move on to the author of the next book I enjoy, but I've vowed to vary my reading more and to read for set amounts of time instead of starting and then not sleeping or eating until I reach "The end."

These were lifted up as examples of using different POVs in mainstream literature (both of these were best-sellers), not necessarily recommending them as reads. The Shields book, yes, the Picoult book, not so much. I'm reading it because I've never read anything by her. It's OK, but I'm not rushing out to find another one by her.

 

[Combat323]

These were lifted up as examples of using different POVs in mainstream literature (both of these were best-sellers), not necessarily recommending them as reads. The Shields book, yes, the Picoult book, not so much. I'm reading it because I've never read anything by her. It's OK, but I'm not rushing out to find another one by her.

I'm just interested to see how Shields navigates the POV switch, and maybe how Picoult changes tenses and still gets published. This year, I'm trying to avoid reading more than one book by any author. I hope there'll be a pleasant surprise or two along the way.

 

[sr71plt]

I guess I wasn't clear on the Shields approach. You pick up the book and read the story in the wife's perspective until you reach the center of the book, where you notice the type is upside down. You then turn the book over and read in from the other direction for the story in the husband's perspective. About as separated as you can get pov between two covers.

 

[Combat323]

I guess I wasn't clear on the Shields approach. You pick up the book and read the story in the wife's perspective until you reach the center of the book, where you notice the type is upside down. You then turn the book over and read in from the other direction for the story in the husband's perspective. About as separated as you can get pov between two covers.

Now I really want to read it.

 

[PennLady]

I guess I wasn't clear on the Shields approach. You pick up the book and read the story in the wife's perspective until you reach the center of the book, where you notice the type is upside down. You then turn the book over and read in from the other direction for the story in the husband's perspective. About as separated as you can get pov between two covers.

That sounds somewhat like Cloud Atlas. I haven't read it myself, but I understand the author wrote all the stories, then split them in half. So you read half of story A, then story B, then C, etc., and then you read the second half. Can't remember if the stories then go C-B-A for the second half. No upside down text though.

I'll have to read this for myself.