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A novel that follows one protagonist over a lifetime can be equally revealing
When a book has multiple timelines, though, it can immediately contrast historical periods or show how trauma
In May 2022, Neha Patel noted that a nonlinear structure allows authors to explore recurring themes and motifs
In a book with multiple timelines, discrepancies between characters’ points of view become obvious in ways that
The choice to tell such a beloved, linear story in a non-linear way was controversial
Because I know what’s going to happen, I focus on how and why it happens, or
Some of the books below follow two or more distinct timelines, while some jump back and forth
All have narrative structures carefully matched to their themes and character development
In 2011, near the start of the Syrian civil war, Nour and her family move back to Syria
She also tells her siblings, in third person past, the story of Rawiya, a Syrian mapmaker from
The setting and tense make it instantly clear which timeline we’re in, and the differences and
To escape a mundane life in her 18th century French village, Addie makes a deal with a
Because Addie is over 300 years old and doesn’t age, the book has two timelines: one in
The innovative structure of this fantasy novel kept me wanting to find out how much Addie had
It was fascinating to read a book with split timelines centuries apart in the same protagonist’s
It also switches between Noor, Misbah, and Misbah’s son Sal’s perspectives
Tahir’s popular Ember in the Ashes Quartet also navigates multiple characters’ POVs skillfully
This historical novel fictionalizes the short life of Lucrezia de’ Medici, Duchess of Ferrara, who was married
Soon after her death, speculation began that her husband had ordered her murder
The novel begins with a harrowing description of Lucrezia’s intuition that her husband intends to kill
This creates narrative tension as the timelines converge on Lucrezia’s wedding and death
The events of the novel seem inevitable, but I still hoped it would somehow end differently
The portrait of Lucrezia also inspired the classic poem “My Last Duchess” by Robert Browning
Her brother developed a substance use disorder after a sports injury, and their mother had long periods
Gifty is always trying to figure out what she believes and why
With its themes of immigration, racism, and faith, it makes sense that the narrative goes back and
and from Gifty’s childhood journals to her graduate experiments
This novel has many Gothic tropes, such as mysterious, decrepit estates and family secrets
It’s also a book about the process of writing: remembering and imagining, and the unique structure
This fantasy novella, which won a 2021 Hugo Award, weaves together several narrative strands to convey the Empress’
After the Empress dies, a cleric meets the Empress’s former servant and friend, who tells them
Morrison’s first novel is narrated by Pecola Breedlove, a young, Black girl in 1940s Ohio, and
These traumas can shape a person’s sense of self in conscious and unconscious ways, as Pecola’
Flashbacks show how racism impacted Pecola’s parents’ lives
Discover these YA Books with unconventional narrative structures