Multiple PoVs: Annoying or Illuminating?

Finishing Dearly, Departed and reading some reviews has got me thinking about multiple PoVs. I've always liked them. Some books I've loved over the past 2 years (Shiver, Across the Universe, Sisters Red) switched the point of view back and forth between 2 characters and I find it adds depth, particularly with a romance, to know what both characters are thinking and feeling and not to have to depend on one person's view. The author has to keep the story moving, so we're not reading the same event twice all the time, but other than that, I think it works.

Things get trickier when the PoVs spread to 3 or more. On the one hand, it is nice to get to know so many characters, especially as there are some who you suspect have much more going on underneath than they let show. With Mockinjay, I would've paid Suzanne Collins all I earn if she would have let us see what Gale was thinking or given us a way to check in with Cinna.

However, I've heard some claim that multiple PoVs like this are lazy; that they are employed when an author can't think of an original way to get across important information. If your villain has a nefarious plot you want the reader to know about, but there's no good reason for him to tell anyone about it, just give him his own PoV chapter and voila! The reader can learn his private thoughts. I've also heard the opinion that constantly rotating the PoVs slows the plot down, as the reader has to leave characters at key moments, move through several other characters, then try and recall where the original characters were.

I understand why an author would find multiple PoVs necessary if he/she is telling a huge, epic story. A Game of Thrones takes place with the characters at several locations and spans many years. George R. R. Martin has built an intricate world which he wants his readers to know every part of, and what better way, than by giving us first-person accounts of what this world is like from many characters; who are different ages, from different families and hold different positions in society?

However, with so many characters and plot threads, the odds are you won't enjoy every one equally. Reading A Game of Thrones, I tended to be more excited when I saw the next chapter was a Daenerys or Sansa PoV, than when it was Jon's or Bram's. A similar thing happened with Dearly, Departed. Other than the main story of Nora and Bram, I was much more interested in Pamela's adventures than I was in those of Victor or Wolfe. 

I think, like so many things, it all comes down to how skilful the author is at handling it. If every PoV is written well, gives the characters each their own distinctive voice, moves the story forward and gives the reader important insights, then I'm all for having many. However, the more there are, the harder it is to maintain this standard and perhaps, this is an area where numbers should be kept down.

What do you think?

Compare the Covers: Bunheads by Sophie Flack

So after reading some good reviews, I went to purchase Bunheads and discovered two things: One, that it won't be published in the UK until next March and two, that it's another book with a different cover over here. So, let's compare:


UK cover                                                                               US cover

I've liked the US cover on the right since I first clapped eyes on it on a Waiting on Wednesday post. While I know it's the same image produced multiple times, I like the pattern made by all the white tutus. They almost create an optical illusion - at first glance, they can look like flowers or swans and you have pay attention to see that they are ballerinas. I also think that the identical images, striking identical poses gives a much clearer feeling that they are indeed, dancing and in perfect unison.

By having an isolated image, the UK cover on the left loses that feeling and it appears that the ballerina is hunched on the floor in anguish. I have a sneaking suspicion that the UK publishers are trying to call to mind Black Swan and play up the emotional distress a ballet career can cause. Adding that tagline also seems to reinforce this. What gets me though, is that the line: "On a stage full of beautiful dancers, how can one girl stand out?" would be much better illustrated by the US cover.

The UK cover is OK and I don't mind having that edition, but I have much more admiration for the image on the US one.

The Book I'm Most Thankful For

I am taking part in Beth Revis' contest to win 19 YA books, by telling you all about the book I'm most thankful for. As well as giving us a chance to win some amazing prizes, this contest also gives us the opportunity to talk about a book that has hugely impacted on our lives.

The book I'm most thankful for is Matilda by Roald Dahl.

In a lonely childhood, Matilda taught me that I could find friends in books. I felt like such an outcast and Matilda was the first person I met who was just like me. She loved to read more than anything and I did, too. She felt like the odd one out in her family and I did, too. She had a terrible time at school and I did, too. Suddenly, I didn't feel so alone anymore; I felt like there was someone out there who understood me, even if she only existed in the pages of a book.

Matilda also fired up my imagination and gave me hope that things would get better for me. I never developed telekinetic powers (although not from want of trying. I spent hours trying to move a carrot with my mind), but I learned that with time and patience, I might develop my own strength. When I saw Matilda meet and connect with her teacher, Miss Honey, I saw a model for a wonderful, supportive mentoring relationship. Throughout my childhood, I wished for a Miss Honey of my own and although it never quite happened for me, it lead me to become a teacher myself - so that I could be Miss Honey to someone else.

I've read many books since Matilda and related to many characters, but there's always something special about your first and I can't deny how much Matilda has helped shape the narrative of my life. For that, I'm thankful.