I fear that this will happen with others and that they won't get as much out of the book. When reading a book you should be able to fully immerse yourself in the story. You should be able to feel the sorrow, joy, and everything in between just like the character. If the story is broken up I worry that you can't.
I do see the merit in some multiple voices. Someone might relate to one rather than the other. One might be able to see something through one they haven't gotten from the other as well. I'm not saying there should always be only one narrator but to go overboard is a fear thatI think is justified.
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I agree with you here. I also believe that there are benefits to have more than one voice, one perspective; however, I agree that too many voices can confuse children.
Sometimes authors should keep it simple. One or two voices I think gives enough perspective and insight into the characters' lives.
I think multiple voices are more beneficial to more experienced readers-- older readers. Furthermore, limited point's of view I think will engage a child more into the story. They will be able to understand and enjoy the story to a greater extent.
I have read many books in my life and I will admit that the ones with only one voice are always my favorite. I personally like once voice only because you can really get to know and understand that one character. It is like they become you or even your best friend. I always find myself really relating to a character when the story is only about what their life is like and what their feelings are. This is one of the reasons I love reading so much because you can really get lost in the persons feelings.
I have read a few books with multiple voices that I have enjoyed, but I always find myself remembering the characters in the ones with just one voice. I do agree that it would definitely become confusing for children. Reading about a bunch of peoples feelings and lives can even become confusing to adults. Even if it does get confusing for children maybe two or three voices would be better for them because that is when you are learning that people have different feelings and things going on in their lives. As adults we already know this.
I completely agree with what you are saying. Multiple voices can be beneficial but only to a certain point. My favorite part about reading books was relating to characters. Although it is possible to relate to a character in a book with multiple voices, it limits the amount of insight you receive from the favored character.
Reading different viewpoints can add a lot more dimension to a story but at the same time it can take away from the relationship a person grows to feel. It can also become complicated. I personally have not read many books with more than three authors but have still found that it can get quite difficult to understand what's going on. Sometimes it is necessary to go back in the book to find out where you left off with different characters. This extra searching is not something I want to bother with. All I want to do is read.
I feel that multiple voices might discourage a young reader. Eventually, it would enhance the reader's ability to wrap their minds around a difficult concept, but at a reading level such as the ones children in elementary school are at, it would be MUCH too difficult. I would imagine that a maximum of two perspectives would be appropriate for new readers.
I feel that multiple voices and perspectives can be extremely beneficial in literature. I think the use of multiple voices allows the reader to really dive deep inside the piece they are reading. I do not necessarily think that it is a bad thing that the reader can get confused with a book if too many different characters are used throughout to narrate the story. Readers, especially younger ones should be challenged with more challenging literature in order to learn how to sort through the novel and piec things together.
I also feel that the use of multiple voices allows the reader to gain insight into a variety of different emotions and personalities. It is important to explore different characters in order to learn to have empathy for a variety of different people, cultures, ideas, beliefs, etc.
Throughout the years, I have to admit that I have gotten the most out of literature with multiple voices. I think that it is important to discuss books with different voices and perspectives because it allows the reader to take an active approach to the material.
Reading literature with a single voice or a small number of voices does allow the reader to really focus in and familiarize themselves with the characters. However, I feel that overall there are more benefits to reading literature that contains multiple voices.
I agree with you completely! Multiple voiced stories can be very confusing, especially when it is hard to distinguish between the different voices. I have read several stories where this was done, and eventually began confusing the characters with one another, as I was no longer able to tell who was who!
Although a story, which uses one narrator, is more straightforward, it can get a bit monotonous. I agree that stories should use several voices but more than three or four can confuse and frustrate the reader. Different voices and perceptions are beneficial but can also cause chaos when not done properly!
I agree with you here also. Too many voices can be a bad thing, it just makes the story confusing. I have a read a book before with more than three voices and it just lost me.
In order for you to fully understand the characters point of view it needs to be only a few people speaking. Once you get too many voices going you dont get to fully immerse yourself in each character. I like knowing each person point of view deeply and with too many voices it makes it impossible to follow well.
Especially when it comes to younger children, I feel as tohugh they get confused easily. It would be a lot easier for adults to understand these kind of stories with the multiple voices!
I definitely agree that three is a good rule of number to abide by when writing a piece with multiple voices. One might argue that the number of voices really depends upon the context of the situation when deciding whether or not more than three is appropriate, but I really feel that the context is irrelevant. More than three points of view of one situation becomes confusing, and the main point or appeal of the situation itself becomes blurry and lost. It ultimately takes away from the message of the story.
Don't mistake my criticism of more than three voices for a blanket dislike of all books from multiple perspectives. I really enjoyed Browne's 'Voices in the Park', and his work actually turned me on to other books of that nature. When it's done right, multi-voice offers a fresh way to convey a plot and it keeps the reader captivated. I'm merely commenting on the fact that too many voices will defeat the purpose of telling the story to begin with. Children are generally too young to understand what the pedagogical, political, and social implications behind viewing a situation from many perspectives are.
I agree with your opinion about becoming overwhelmed when there are too many voices in one book. I remember reading a novel in high school that had four voices, and even that was a little too much to take in. I often became confused who was narrating, and mixed up the personalities and actions of the characters.
Of all the books that I have read, I still tend to enjoy novels with one voice more that multiple voice novels. Only having one person narrating allows me to understand their actions and feelings more in depth. I also seem to become more interested in the story when I have become somewhat more "attached" to the narrator. Even when reading multiple voices novels, I always seem to choose a favorite character and value their opinion more than others.
I do believe that multiple voice novels are needed and do serve a purpose. They can show a reader to look at other points of view, teach one to step outside of their own shoes. Many readers enjoy multiple voice novels, but personally I usually find them confusing and less interesting than novels with one narrator.
I would also have to agree with all of you. When I read books I always have a favorite character in the story. I remember a couple of semesters ago I had a IAH class and we had to read the novel Dracula. It was not hard because it was written in the 1897. It was hard because there was like 6 different characters there was not just one main character they drifted a lot.
It was very confusing. At times I would have to back and read twice or three times to understand who was talking and was this part in the past or present or was it a dream. The author would have the characters jump around a lot. I believe that there should be at most four main characters. Its very important to make a connection with the main character, so you wan to keep reading. I am sure that everyone has ever read a book can agree that the favorite character also becomes your friend. It would be a shame to lose that connection. So future authors be careful with your characters!!!
As previously stated I too agree with what you are saying. While multiple voices give numerous perspectives and in overall view of certain situations it can become quite confusing. I personally like to be able to understand and get the full impact of one characters thoughts and emotions. While you don't get an unbiased perspective you get a deeper understanding of what makes a character who they are and what motivates their actions.
While I'm not trying to dis novels that have multiple voices, they do have strengths as well such as being able to see the same situation in different aspects or getting a broader view of the story. I just think a reader can connect and relate better when there is only one narrator involved.
I definitely agree with the idea that three is a reasonable number of voices in a story. Too many different voices in one story for some readers can be chaotic and could lose the importance of the literature. In some stories though, the more voices added, make the plot even better so I would argue that it depends on what's being read.
In my own opinion, the characters are what make the story most interesting. Whether it be three or thirteen, as long as the story doesn't get messy and confusing, (with the large number of voices) I don't see the problem. I think for the sake of the children, three voices or less is the safest route. We want to understand the story, not be bombarded by extra voices and perspectives that may just make an entire story distasteful.
I agree with you on this but at the same time I have read a book with more than three perspectives and at first I was confused but after reading it I found satisfaction in seeing everyone's different sides.
There are pluses to writing with one voice or multiple and it matters for what age group you are writing for. :)
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