I'm looking for books (preferably from the last 2o years, preferably
from fairly well-known authors) where the author shifts from the first
person (I) narrator to third person (He, She) narrators. Preference:
where it works! My best example so far is Philip Roth's "The Human
Stain". Some mentioning "Becoming Madam Mao" as an example of it not
working so well.

Hi charidea~

Here are several examples, which (from reviews and opinions given on
various websites) seem to have worked for readers. Most are from
"successful" authors (i.e., authors who've sold well for their genre,
or have many books under their belt).

You can find these books at any good bookstore, but for the sake of
ease, I have included links to amazon.com.

"A Bend In The Road" by Nicholas Sparks:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0446611867/qid=1037141925/sr=2-1/ref=sr_2_1/002-9226576-3688868

Charles De Lint's "The Onion Girl:"
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0312873972/qid=1037141410/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/002-9226576-3688868?v=glance&s=books

"Slow River" by Nicola Griffith:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0345395379/qid=1037141552/sr=8-4/ref=sr_8_4/002-9226576-3688868?v=glance&s=books&n=507846

Joe Haldeman's "Forever Peace:"
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0441005667/qid=1037141659/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/002-9226576-3688868?v=glance&s=books

Nelson Demille's "The Lion's Game:"
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0446608262/qid=1037141781/sr=2-1/ref=sr_2_1/002-9226576-3688868


"The Right Hand of Sleep" by John Wray:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0375706402/qid=1037142128/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/002-9226576-3688868?v=glance&s=books

"The Earthquake Bird" by Susanna Jones:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0786241365/qid=1037142238/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/002-9226576-3688868?v=glance&s=books

Keywords Used:
"first person" "third person" novel
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=%22first+person%22+%22third+person%22+novel&btnG=Google+Search

Hope this helps!
kriswrite

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Request for Answer Clarification by charidea-ga on 13 Nov 2002 04:20 PST

I appreciate the long list but I was hoping for more "well known"
authors along the lines of the Atonement comment.
c

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Clarification of Answer by kriswrite-ga on 13 Nov 2002 09:30 PST

The "famousness" of authors is rather subjective, but I am happy to
attempt to cite some more well-known authors. :)

How about Margaret Atwood's novel "The Edible Woman:"
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0385491069/qid=1037208359/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/102-5914822-1216958?v=glance&s=books

Or her "Bodily Harm," which combines first person and third person
omniscient:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0385491077/qid=1037208417/sr=2-2/ref=sr_2_2/102-5914822-1216958

For better or for worse, Stephen King is one of the most well-known
writers in the U.S...and his book "Christine" is one of the few
blockbuster books that uses both  first and third person:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0451160444/qid=1037208454/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/102-5914822-1216958?v=glance&s=books

Also, how about Alice Hoffman's "Local Girls:"
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0786220090/qid=1037208477/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/102-5914822-1216958?v=glance&s=books

Hope this is helpful,
kriswrite

'Atonement' by Ian McEwan is a very recent, high-profile, and
successful example (the switch is from 3rd to 1st person rather than
vice versa - does that matter?)