Do you know of any books that change point of view?

Dracula by Bram Stoker. Changes POV by chapter.

@josie That’s cool. Do you mean first person point of view, or third person point of view.
By changing in third person I mean having the same terminology like ‘he said’ or ‘she said’ but explaining only one character’s actions at one time.

@BBawlight Maybe it is not what you had in mind. The various chapters are one of the characters’ journals. Jonathen Harker’s journal, Mina Harker’s journal etc. In that way, they are all first person.

@josie It does answer my question in a way. They are all technically in first person, just with dates and a timeline. There are other books out there so my question may never be fully answered.

I thought you were talking about the point of view about life…
I was going to say Bible.
But then again, the Bible does change character’s point of view so often
that you are bound to be confused without help of the translator!!

The first one that comes to mind for me is The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver. Each chapter is told from a different character’s POV ( I think 1st person but maybe it was 3rd…) and it rotates through the family members this way. It is a fascinating way to tell a story, allowing for many different perspectives and conflicts to arise within one plot.
Can’t think of any at the moment that are different people from book to book, just chapter to chapter. (I’m sure there are plenty.)
Why do you ask?

@codette Just curious because I read a lot of Fanfiction and internet fiction and they like to change character POV by chapter or story or paragraph. I’m just seeing if paid authors do that as well.

Another classic example is “The Sound and the Fury” by Faulkner, each of the first three quarters of the book is by a separate character, 1st person limited, if i recall correctly. The last section is not 1st person limited, but I can’t recall the exact viewpoint (and wikipedia isn’t helping >.>)

One example that’s a tougher read is Immortality by Milan Kundera. It shifts all over the place, from various characters’ points of view, different tenses, jumping from author/narrator to subject and in and out of different layers of characters and plots. Very postmodern.
Yes, “paid authors” do all kinds of stuff. It’s art, and open to creativity. :) You should check out postmodernism if you’re enjoying the shifting narrators. Maybe don’t start with the aforementioned Kundera though, if you’re iffy….

I think that if an author wants to express an idea, he shouldn’t jump around with the first person POV. It gets annoying. I enjoy every other chapter is another POV. But never switching all over the place. I only said “paid authors” to separate the types.

About 30 years ago, before my taste in books matured somewhat, I remember reading a book by an author called Susan Howatch, I don’t remember the title but every chapter was “written” by a different character.

I understand what you meant. :). And I totally agree that jumping around too much can be annoying and even detrimental to the storytelling. Fan fiction and internet fiction have their gems and their trash, like so many other areas in life.
I do wonder if you’d enjoy The Poisonwood Bible. It’s about a missionary family that moves to Africa, and all their daughters who have very different personalities. I think I read it in early high school (for pleasure, not assigned) and loved the different narrator with each chapter.

Sounds cool. I don’t really like stories that take place in desert areas. I just feel weird afterwards. But I can give it a go once I finish my computer programming books. My older cousin bet that I couldn’t finish reading ‘Linux in a Nutshell’ within a month, and learn it within a week.

I feel like it was more forest/jungle than desert if I remember correctly, so you’re safe there.
Linux in a week! I hope you win the bet.

The Game of Thrones series changes character POV every chapter, and there are a LOT of characters. I’m also reading A Visit from the Goon Squad and it changes time periods, POV, and even goes between 1st-, 2nd-, and 3rd-person narratives. The Girl in Hyacinth Blue does a similar thing.

@codette I think I can! I’m a straight A student without trying so I get concepts without trying. lol. I don’t think it’ll be easy, though. From what I’ve read about it.

@BBawlight Don’t try that with Java. Back on topic though. I cant remember the name of the book but it switched narrators constantly. It would go from 3rd person to 2nd person (retrospective) to 1st person (retrospective) every chapter. It was about about 3 people stuck in an alternate reality where their alternate selves are internationaly wanted hitmen. Great book. Very Matrix like. However, the story makes MUCH more sense

Just about anything by Neal Stephenson.

The Illuminatus Trilogy also changes POVs, sometimes even mid-sentence. NY detective, stoned anarchist, Perry the squirrel (as in “small, furry rodent”), Las Vegas hooker… all in less than a paragraph. Then again, it’s supposed to be surreal.

In The Help each chapter is from a different character.

@jerv – woot, Neal Stephenson! I would argue that some of his best-known works – Cryptonomicon, Anathem – actually stick with one protagonist’s POV.

Alright, this may or may not help you, but you can take a look at Ten Tiny Breaths series by KA Tucker and Flat-Out Love series by Jessica Park. I haven’t read the latter though. Anyway, it’s like, first book is about this character, second book is about this one, and so on. Plus, the time settings overlap. Was that what you were looking for?

@mistalava Not exactly but I really like the concept. Thank you for sharing. I might check them out…