I just find it so jarring to change gears so abruptly every chapter. I'll be getting swept away in an exciting part of the story and then BAM now we're following Gerald at the airport. I just finished God Of The Woods (it was fine) but not only did it change characters every chapter, it also jumped between 5 different timelines. It was so fatiguing that I almost put it down a few times.
On a brighter note, I also read Will Of The Many about a month ago which is a true linear story and it was so refreshing. Each chapter picked up right where the last one left off and i just had a blast reading it.
by jeffythunders
6 Comments
Big agree. Especially when I hate 9/10ths of the cast, like, just bring the cool girl back please!
Depends if the change in perspective actually serves a purpose.
Sometimes books which do big time jumps feel like they could have been better as two separate books that just really focused on one instead of jumping in them and not connecting them all that well.
Worst is if the chapter doesn’t tell whose chapter it is and you have to be half a page deep in the chapter to get somekind of hint on whose perspetive you should be reading it.
I actually like books with multiple POVs. Different strokes, I suppose.
I actually really like these if they reach a point of singularity. The most recent one I can think of I read was Caroline Kepnes (the author of the You Netflix series) book “Providence”. I thought it all tied up well and flowed good. Really just a fun airport read.
I also don’t mind time loops or jumps that use this format. But again it can only have too many perspectives before it’s too much.
Def a delicate balance to pull off.
I read *A Hero Ain’t Nothing But A Sandwich* as a YA book, which was like this. I thought it was well done…
I’m reading The Stand right now and could not disagree more, respectfully. I love seeing how the events of the story impact each character differently in real time. (I’m only 400 pages in so no spoilers please🙏).