Novels that switch between the past and the present?

Margaret Atwood has written many novels that split the timeline, with some of the story taking place in the past and some in the present. So has Amy Tan. Some of Pat Conroy's and Anne Rivers Siddon's novels do this too, I think.

The Time Traveller's Wife is the most successful one that springs to my mind. The protagonist literally travels through time, but his version of self is not constant so it's very different from other time travel narratives.

The Historian also does this to an extent (love that novel).

I've just finished reading Alison Sinclair's Legacies which is half set in the present and half in the past. The past narrative explains how the characters got to the present situation.

The Bone Garden by Tess Gerritsen

I don't know if this fits what you're looking for -- it's not flashbacks, it's more like two subplots, one in the past and one in the present. But it was done very well, and it's one of the few non-SF books that I've read right through and enjoyed.

I can't say I see what the problem issue is here.

There's nothing special about flashbacks or switching between past and present. It's perfectly normal.

You only have to be clear in your transitions so the reader knows the transition has taken place. How long any transitioned section lasts is up to the author to decide and that depends upon the story requirements.

Roxxsmom said:

Margaret Atwood has written many novels that split the timeline, with some of the story taking place in the past and some in the present. So has Amy Tan. Some of Pat Conroy's and Anne Rivers Siddon's novels do this too, I think.

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Read Conroy's The Prince of Tides when you get a chance. It does exactly what you're looking for, and it happens to be an excellent book.

I just finished reading several novels that use split timelines: The Pieces We Keep by Kristina McMorris, My Beautiful Enemy by Sherry Thomas (she does like quite often, actually). Like Bufty said, just make sure that each time is distinctive and clear for the reader.

An example that's gone on for multiple books:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katharine_Kerr#Deverry_novels

The Wolf's Hour by Robert R. McCammon. A great book.

You could try Cat's Eye by Margaret Atwood.

When the Killing's Done TC Boyle

I just read Gone Girl. For a significant part of the book, one of the narratives is in the past, the other in the present.

I recently read All the Birds, Singing (this year's Miles Franklin winner) and it has dual narratives that move in different chronological directions (one in the past that moves forward, and one in the present that moves backwards). That's the beauty of writing - anything is worth a crack.

The only thing that comes to mind is The Dispossessed by Ursula Le Guine. The odd numbered chapters took place in the past, while the even numbered ones happened in the present. It's been a while since I read the book, so you might want to check if I have the order right or not. There's about thirteen chapters in the entire book, so it can definitely be done, sara_ash.

How about my all-time favourite: Stephen King's It? Switches between 1958 and 1984.

I'm reading Scott Lynch's "The Republic of Thieves" right now and he does that throughout the novel. It's th third book of a series but I think it's probably easy to get what's going on even without reading the first two (although they are good reading )