A short blog post this week. My aim of this blog has been to bring examples I have found in my reading life, and write them up on here as interesting examples for writers to check out if they need a bit of inspiration for their writing projects. This week I have an example to put on the table, but not a lot to say about it because it’s a very simple, yet effective idea.

I want to present an interesting example I found in The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin. It’s a fantastic book and I would highly recommend it. The very subject of this post is MASSIVE spoilers for The Fifth Season, so look away now if you haven’t read the book and don’t want spoilers. Looked away? Alright, let’s get on.

For a bit of context for those of you who haven’t read The Fifth Season, but are still reading this blog post, the book is a fantasy novel that follows three POVs. We have a girl who is taken away from her family by a creepy guy, a young woman who for some unknown reason has been sent to have sex with someone, and an older woman whose young son has been murdered by her husband (yeah, this book is pretty dark).

The book is set in either a fantasy world, or on Earth after a series of major cataclysmic disasters that have altered the face and climate of the planet. Some humans in this story can control the Earth’s movements – such as earthquakes or ice – but these humans are shunned and feared.

When you first start reading this book, it’s easy to assume that all the POVs are separate people whose stories were happening at the same time. I thought this was the case and that they would all meet up at some point and form an awesome trio. However, I further I got into the book, I started to realise that actually the girl, the young woman and the older woman were all the same person, and we’re following her life at three different points.

It was a bit of a shock to me when I realised what was going on, but at the same time I thought what an awesome idea it was. It’s so simple, and yet effective. You think you are getting three seperate stories, but in fact you are getting a wide picture of this one character. Backstory in novels will either engage a reader further or it can be off putting, because sometimes you just want to get on with the main story. Examples of books that I think have presented backstory well are The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson (in relation to Kal’s backstory), and Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo (in relation to Kaz’s backstory).

But I think N.K. Jemisin takes it to a whole other level with The Fifth Season, because you get to see the backstory of the main character in such detail, and you really get to understand why the older version of herself is the way she is, and really feel for her in the different parts of her life. You get to see that character development on the page – even if she doesn’t undergo any in her seperate POVs (and I would argue she does in her young woman timeline) you can see the character growth she has undergone from when she was a child up until she is an older woman. And it’s surprising. The revalation that you have been following one character all this time adds a fantastic twist to the plot, which makes the story even more memorable.

What books have you read recently that have done something interesting the POV? Comment down below. Let me know.

My new book, The Blood Twins, is out now on Amazon. Click the below banner to find out more about it, and my debut novel, Otaku Trash ⬇️